00:00For now in Helsinki, I'm joined by Valerie Ayer, a French MEP and leader of the Renew Group
00:04in the European Parliament. Valerie, for how long do you think NATO can stay out of the war
00:10in Iran? Let's be clear, this is not our war. And a shift of attention on Ukraine would be a
00:18huge
00:19mistake. Europe's security is Ukraine's security, and Ukraine's security is Europe's security.
00:25Russia is the first threat for us, and that's why you have to be fully committed and to empower
00:32ourselves. But what we heard from Mark Rutte, the Secretary-General of NATO yesterday, was that,
00:37well, the United States is really helping in this war with Ukraine and Russia because of the
00:42negotiations at the table. Now Mark Arubi is saying, if you don't help us in Iran, we won't help you
00:47with Ukraine and Russia anymore. Ukraine is not a bargaining chip, and this is not, Iran's war is
00:53not our war. We stand here today in Finland. This is the longest border between the EU and Russia.
01:01We have to defend Finland. We have to defend Ukraine. We have to defend the EU. And this
01:05is our top priority, and it remains.
01:08But France and the UK and several other countries are part of a sort of a joint coalition to maybe
01:14re-secure the Strait of Ormos. Now they say it's when the hostilities end, but they're part of that.
01:19Do you think that maybe the Europeans will need to put their shoulders to the wheel,
01:24help the Americans in order to get some payback for Ukraine?
01:27This is not a question on helping the Americans. This is a question of sécurising the Hormuz path
01:34to make sure that energy issues is not so harmful for Europe.
01:39But do you think that the Europeans can do anything realistically anyway in the Strait of
01:43Ormos, despite the fact that, of course, the European economies are really suffering?
01:47As I said, this is a question of energy security. Also, what we have done until now at the European
01:52level is also to move on in environmental transitions. What this question, this war shows us
02:02is our weakness. We are too dependent on fossil fuels. So we have to move on and to be more
02:08independent.
02:09And the point you made there, obviously, we're in Helsinki, which has the largest border
02:12with inside NATO with Russia and a country that's very much leading the way when it comes
02:17to preparedness. Thank you very much, Valerie Ayer, for that this morning.
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