French President Emmanuel Macron highlighted in the Japanese capital Tokyo today the “predictability of Europe”, contrasting it with the “unpredictability of the US” under President Donald Trump, reported Agence France-Presse, BTA reported.
Macron criticized the American head of state in absentia - without naming him - for starting a war in the Middle East without "warning his allies", who were subsequently affected by the economic impact of the US-Israeli strikes on Tehran, which started the conflict on February 28.
“I know that sometimes Europe can be perceived as a continent that acts slower than the others“, the French president told representatives of the Japanese business community and investors on the second day of his visit to Japan.
"However, predictability has value. We have demonstrated it over the last few years and, I dare say, again in recent weeks: we are where you know we are going“, the French president stressed. "Nowadays, it's not bad, believe me", he insisted.
Macron criticized "those who say: "We act much faster". "You don't know if they will be somewhere the day after tomorrow or if tomorrow they could make a decision that could affect you without even warning you."
This was an allusion to the war launched more than a month ago by the United States and Israel against Iran. In response to the bombings, Tehran blocked the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, through which much of Japan's oil imports usually pass, AFP notes.
Trump drew attention to the "dramatic consequences for Japan's energy" ahead of his planned meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi today.
"Europe is on your side", he told Japanese investors. "With the same unwavering commitment, we are also on the side of international law, on the side of negotiations and for the return of diplomacy. And we believe in a solution reached through negotiations", the head of state stressed.
He called on Japanese businessmen to "look at France and Europe with new eyes". In his words, "much more needs to be done" in Franco-Japanese partnerships, especially in the fields of quantum technologies, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, space and defense.