Obama ensalza a Hollande: "Ha movilizado a Europa en la lucha contra el terrorismo"

El presidente de EEUU, Barack Obama, ha afirmado este jueves que su homólogo francés, François Hollande, ha "movilizado a la comunidad europea" en el combate al terrorismo, tras analizar ambos formas de estrechar la cooperación bilateral en esa materia para evitar nuevos ataques como los de Bruselas y París.

France's Sarkozy: no deal with Socialists against far right

France's conservative party leader, Nicolas Sarkozy, on Wednesday ruled out making any alliance with Francois Hollande's ruling Socialists to stop the increasingly popular far right from winning regional councils in elections this month.

Hollande discutirá el lunes en París con Cameron sobre terrorismo y Siria

El presidente de Francia, François Hollande, mantendrá este lunes una reunión en París con el primer ministro británico, David Cameron, en la que discutirán sobre el combate antiterrorista y la situación en Siria, informaron hoy los medios franceses.

Rajoy a Hollande: "Vamos a luchar juntos contra el terrorismo"

El jefe del Gobierno, Mariano Rajoy, ha conversado hoy con el presidente francés, François Hollande, para mostrarle su total apoyo tras los atentados terroristas de anoche en París y garantizarle: "Vamos a luchar juntos contra el terrorismo".

Hollande califica los atentados de París de acto de guerra

El presidente francés, François Hollande, dijo el sábado que los atentados de la víspera en París que se han cobrado la vida de 127 personas eran "un acto de guerra" organizado por el Estado Islámico desde el exterior con ayuda interna.

"Haciendo frente a una guerra, el país debe adoptar la decisión adecuada", dijo, sin precisar qué quería decir.

Hollande Prepares Battle for Round 2 of the Presidential Election

By Le Figaro

The key phrase for Socialist François Hollande's campaign between the two rounds of the French election will be "bringing people together."

Yesterday was the first round of the French presidential election. Socialist François Hollande came in first place, with UMP candidate and current president Nicolas Sarkozy finishing right behind him. The second round of the election-- the run-off between the two candidates-- will be held in two weeks.

Merkel duda de que Putin cumpla su parte para pacificar el este de Ucrania

Vía El País

La canciller Angela Merkel ha reconocido este sábado en la Conferencia de Seguridad de Múnich, tras negociar anoche durante cinco horas en Moscú con el presidente ruso Vladímir Putin y la víspera con el ucranio Petró Poroshenko, sus dudas sobre las posibilidades de pacificar Ucrania. “No hay ninguna certidumbre sobre el éxito de las conversaciones. Pero el presidente [François] Hollande y yo estamos de acuerdo en que merecía la pena intentarlo. Se lo debemos a la población afectada en Ucrania”, ha declarado en el foro en el que intervienen también el ministro de Exteriores ruso, Sergéi Lavrov; el vicepresidente de Estados Unidos, Joe Biden, y el presidente Poroshenko.

Hollande recalcó que Tulle (Francia) que es imprescindible lograr un acuerdo de fondo. "Si no logramos alcanzar no solo un compromiso sino un acuerdo de paz, sabemos perfectamente cuál será el escenario. Tiene nombre, se llama guerra", ha declarado, informa Reuters.

Merkel y el presidente francés, François Hollande, sorprendieron el pasado jueves con una minigira a Kiev y Moscú con el objetivo de rebajar la tensión en el este de Ucrania. Lo apresurado de la iniciativa diplomática y la implicación personal de los líderes de Alemania y Francia mostraba lo preocupante de la situación.

La canciller alemana ha expresado sus dudas sobre la disposición del presidente Putin a cumplir su parte para acabar con el conflicto. “No hay ninguna garantía”, ha respondido a un participante que le preguntó por su certidumbre sobre el cumplimiento por parte de Rusia de los acuerdos firmados. “El presidente ucranio asumió un gran riesgo al firmar el Acuerdo de Minsk. Hemos vivido una gran decepción”, ha asegurado Merkel.

Ukraine crisis: Leaders in new diplomatic push for peace

By BBC

French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have arrived in the capital Kiev to present a new peace initiative. US Secretary of State John Kerry, who is also in Kiev, said the US wanted a diplomatic solution, but would not close its eyes to Russian aggression.

Fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian rebels has killed more than 5,000 people since last April. Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of arming rebels in eastern Ukraine and sending regular troops across the border. Russia denies direct involvement but says some Russian volunteers are fighting alongside the rebels.

Speaking at a joint news conference with Mr Kerry, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said: "We need to get peace. But we will never consider anything that undermines territorial integrity... of Ukraine."

Mr Kerry accused Russia of violating Ukraine's sovereignty, saying that Russia had been acting with "impunity", crossing the Ukrainian border "at will with weapons [and] personnel".

"We are choosing a peaceful solution through diplomacy - but you cannot have a one-sided peace," Mr Kerry said.

He added that Mr Obama was still "reviewing all options", including the possibility of providing "defensive weapons" to Ukraine, due to the dangerous escalation in violence. The US is currently only providing "non-lethal" assistance.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said any decision by the US to supply weapons to Ukraine would "inflict colossal damage to Russian-American relations". Several senior Western officials have also expressed concern at the prospect of US arms being sent to Ukraine.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier likened the option to "throwing more weapons on the bonfire", while Nato commander Philip Breedlove said governments must take into account that the move "could trigger a more strident reaction from Russia".

Analysis: Jonathan Marcus, BBC diplomatic correspondent

Should the West arm Ukraine? Might such a move - by giving Ukraine more effective defences - reduce the risk of a major escalation?

Or might it simply add fuel to the fire, encouraging Moscow to mount a major offensive westwards to punch through to the territory it already holds in the Crimea?

The consensus view up to now has been not to supply weapons, but to give non-lethal support like radars, medical gear, body-armour and so on. Only Poland has explicitly stated that it might arm Ukraine if asked. Now the balance of the debate is shifting in the US too, but still there is no clear will to provide weapons to the Kiev government. There is a growing sense of urgency and concern within Nato and if diplomacy fails, arming Kiev may become a serious option.

Mr Hollande and Mrs Merkel arrived in Kiev on Thursday afternoon, in what appeared to be a speedily arranged visit. They met Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who thanked them for their visit at "a very urgent time". Mr Hollande had said that he and Mrs Merkel would present a new peace proposal based on the "territorial integrity" of Ukraine, which could be "acceptable to all". However, he warned that diplomacy "cannot go on indefinitely".

Mr Hollande and Mrs Merkel will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Friday. A spokesman for the Kremlin said Mr Putin would discuss "the fastest possible end to the civil war in south-eastern Ukraine". Correspondents say it is not clear how the latest attempt will differ from previous, aborted peace efforts - but there is speculation that Mr Hollande and Mrs Merkel hope to discourage the US from supplying Ukraine with weapons.

The talks in Kiev come as Nato unveils details of a plan to bolster its military presence in Eastern Europe in response to the Ukraine crisis. A new rapid reaction "spearhead" force of up to 5,000 troops is expected to be announced, with its lead units able to deploy at two days' notice. Meanwhile, officials said on Thursday that the European Union is adding 19 people, including five Russians, to its sanctions list over the Ukraine crisis.

Nine "entities" will also be targeted by the sanctions, which were reportedly agreed at an emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers last week. Fighting has intensified in eastern Ukraine in recent weeks amid a rebel offensive. The fiercest fighting has been near the town of Debaltseve, where rebels are trying to surround Ukrainian troops. The town is a crucial rail hub linking the rebel-held cities of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Some 1.2 million Ukrainians have fled their homes since last April, when the rebels seized a big swathe of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions following Russia's annexation of Crimea.