France, Germany and Poland pledged on Monday continued support for Ukraine.

The defense ministers of the three countries, Sebastien Lecornu, Boris Pistorius and Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, gathered in Paris to discuss global and European security and defense issues, including the war in Ukraine and the upcoming NATO Summit in Washington.

All ministers pledged to continue supporting Ukraine.

Lecornu criticized Russia for "nuclear blackmail" as part of its intimidation strategy and noted that President Vladimir Putin has instrumentalized Russian nuclear deterrence in his comments.

The NATO summit in Washington "will be an opportunity to show how united we are," Pistorius said.

Kosiniak-Kamysz announced that France, Germany and Poland will conduct an exercise and the forces will train together in 2025 on Polish territory.

He also called on all NATO allies to meet the two percent defense spending target, which has already been doubled to four percent by Poland, he said.

Regarding the issue of migration, the Polish minister pointed out that those who arrive at the Polish border are not immigrants, but people who attack policemen, soldiers and border officers.

"These are attacks against Western countries", said the minister.

Pistorius said that they would respect the results of the early elections in France and added that from the German point of view, "nationalism has never been the solution to the problems, but on the contrary, it was part of the problems".

France's far-right Rally National party had a victory in EU elections on June 9, prompting President Emmanuel Macron to concede the situation and dissolve parliament to hold elections on June 30.

"What matters now is to elect those who will guarantee security and growth, and now it is the French who will decide who will govern. I admit, it is a decision that will have an impact on the whole of Europe," said Kosiniak-Kamysz.

Lecornu, for his part, emphasized that the security of France is a serious issue and cannot be left aside in the context of conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East and Asia. /AA