ANKARA

French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that his country will continue working towards achieving a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.

"We call once more for a cease-fire," Macron told broadcasters TF1 and France 2 in an interview.

He recalled that Paris had made intensive efforts to achieve a pause in the fighting in Gaza and reminded Israel to respect humanitarian and international law.

Israel has launched a retaliatory offensive on Gaza since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Oct. 7, killing more than 31,300 Palestinians and injuring nearly 73,000 others amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Following his remarks that caused controversy late last month and are still being debated on sending troops to Ukraine, Macron explained his position.

This is an "existential" war for Europe and France, and if Ukraine fell, Europe's security would be threatened, he said.

"If Russia continues the escalation, if the situation deteriorates, we must be prepared and we will be prepared," Macron stressed.

He noted that "all options are possible" and the "Kremlin regime would be the only ones responsible."

"We will never lead an offensive. We will never take the initiative," he vowed, describing Russia as an "adversary."

"Nuclear weapons are not instruments of destabilization or a threat. They are an instrument of security," Macron emphasized.

Possessing nuclear weapons gives a responsibility to France to never be involved in escalation, neither verbal nor actual, he said.

Macron made much-debated remarks indicating that sending Western troops to Ukraine was an option "to make sure Russia does not prevail," an idea rejected by allies, including Germany. Reports have emerged, however, that Paris is building an alliance of countries open to the idea.

Members of France’s lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, and upper house have voted in favor of Macron’s strategy to support Kyiv and a bilateral security agreement signed on Feb. 16.

The voting was symbolic and not binding.