France to send military to protect Saudi Arabia on Red Sea oil route, Macron says

PARIS, Sept 24 (Reuters) — France will send troops and defense systems to Saudi Arabia to help protect the Red Sea port city of Yanbu, which is key for energy transport, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday.

Macron also said a U.S. ban on diesel exports, which the White House has denied is under consideration, would be “catastrophic,” both globally and for the U.S. economy.

Macron was speaking in a wide-ranging primetime television interview on the international situation, in which he also warned about possible Russian attacks on French soil.

Facing growing pressure at home over high energy prices, Macron sought to assure the French that France had adequate gas and oil supplies as winter approaches. He said Paris was actively working to ensure flows were not disrupted.

Crude oil prices have surged recently as the main alternative route for Saudi oil exports through Yanbu has come under missile attacks from Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis.

“We are going to send military resources, that is to say, soldiers, radar systems and defense systems, to protect this site — not to get us involved in any conflicts, but to protect this site,” Macron told TF1 and France 2 TV.

Macron dismissed a report by Spanish newspaper El Mundo that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency had warned European governments about the threat of potential drone attacks from the Mediterranean.

“I can deny it. The CIA did not inform French services,” he said.

Still, Macron said Russia is multiplying hostile and criminal acts against European countries, and France could face strikes similar to the failed attack in Leipzig. Germany said Russia was responsible for an attempted drone attack in August on the Leipzig airport.

Macron gathered French party chiefs at the Elysee last week to brief them on the growing threat from Russia. He later said he had ordered his government to draw up a plan to protect critical infrastructure against drone and cyber attacks.

Macron said Moscow was seeking to intimidate Europe and break the continent’s resolve in supporting Ukraine.

Russia says European allegations of hybrid attacks are baseless and the result of anti-Russian hysteria.

Yet Macron’s position on Russia was weakened this week after France shocked other EU members by getting Russian-Uzbek metals tycoon Alisher Usmanov exempted from EU sanctions, citing national security concerns. That prompted Azerbaijan to pardon a French national jailed for espionage.

巴黎，9 月 24 日（路透社）——法国总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙周四表示，法国将向沙特阿拉伯派遣军队和防御系统，以帮助保护红海港口城市延布，延布是能源运输的关键枢纽。

马克龙还表示，美国禁止柴油出口（白宫否认正在考虑这一措施）将是“灾难性的”，无论对全球经济还是对美国经济都是如此。

马克龙在黄金时段接受电视采访，就国际形势发表了广泛的讲话，并在采访中警告称，俄罗斯可能对法国领土发动袭击。

面对国内高昂的能源价格压力，马克龙试图向法国民众保证，随着冬季临近，法国的天然气和石油供应充足。他表示，巴黎方面正在积极努力，确保供应不会中断。

近期，由于沙特石油经由延布出口的主要替代路线遭到也门胡塞武装（伊朗支持）的导弹袭击，原油价格大幅上涨。

“我们将派遣军事资源，也就是士兵、雷达系统和防御系统，来保护这​​个地点——不是为了让我们卷入任何冲突，而是为了保护这个地点，”马克龙告诉TF1和法国电视二台。

马克龙驳斥了西班牙《世界报》的一篇报道，该报道称美国中央情报局曾警告欧洲各国政府，地中海地区可能存在无人机袭击的威胁。

“我可以否认。中央情报局没有向法国情报部门通报此事，”他说。

尽管如此，马克龙表示，俄罗斯正在加倍对欧洲国家实施敌对和犯罪行为，法国可能面临类似于莱比锡未遂袭击的打击。德国则称，俄罗斯应对8月份莱比锡机场的无人机袭击未遂事件负责。

上周，马克龙在爱丽舍宫召集法国各党派领导人，向他们通报了来自俄罗斯日益增长的威胁。他随后表示，已指示政府制定一项计划，以保护关键基础设施免受无人机和网络攻击。

马克龙表示，莫斯科试图恐吓欧洲，破坏欧洲大陆支持乌克兰的决心。

俄罗斯称欧洲关于混合攻击的指控毫无根据，是反俄歇斯底里的结果。

然而，本周法国以国家安全为由，为俄罗斯裔乌兹别克斯坦金属大亨阿利舍尔·乌斯马诺夫争取到欧盟制裁豁免，此举震惊了其他欧盟成员国，也削弱了马克龙对俄立场。此举促使阿塞拜疆赦免了一名因间谍罪入狱的法国公民。