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Macron warns 'mortal' Europe needs credible defence

(ANSA-AFP) - PARIS, APR 25 - French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday warned that Europe faced an existential threat from Russian aggression, calling on the continent to adopt a "credible" defence strategy less dependent on the United States. He described Russia's behaviour after its invasion of Ukraine as "uninhibited" and said it was no longer clear where Moscow's "limits" lay. Macron also sounded the alarm on what he described as disrespect of global trade rules by both Russia and China, calling on the European Union to revise its trade policy. "Our Europe, today, is mortal and it can die," he said. "It can die and this depends only on our choices," Macron said, warning that Europe was "not armed against the risks we face" in a world where the "rules of the game have changed". "Over the next decade... the risk is immense of (Europe) being weakened or even relegated," he added, also pointing to the risk of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon. (ANSA-AFP).