Kremlin warns that, if the French leader’s suggestion comes true, a conflict between Russia and NATO countries will be inevitable. Alliance guarantees that there is no plan for military personnel on the ground, according to Diário de Notícias
Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy and NATO itself are among those who publicly rejected the idea launched by French President Emmanuel Macron about a possible sending of Western troops to Ukraine.
Moscow reacted to this suggestion, warning the Alliance that, if this happens, a war will be inevitable. The European Union stated that the decision is up to each country.
“Today there is no consensus on sending troops to the field in an official, accepted and approved manner. But, in dynamic terms, nothing should be excluded,” Macron said on Monday night, at the end of a high-level meeting in Paris, attended by more than 20 European leaders and other Western representatives, including the United States.
“We will do everything necessary to ensure that Russia cannot win this war,” added the French head of state. Macron also appeared to implicitly aim his sights at countries, such as Germany, that have long been reluctant to hand over certain weapons to Kiev.
“Many people today who say ‘never, never’ are the same people who said ‘never tanks, never planes, never long-range missiles’ two years ago,” he said.
Hours earlier, still in Berlin, the German chancellor had refused to follow the example of France and the United Kingdom in sending long-range missiles to Kiev, arguing that this “would not be reasonable” because it could “involve” Germany directly in the war that has been unleashed. by Russia.
This Tuesday, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stéphane Séjourné, tried to give some clarity to Macron’s words, saying that the presence of Western troops in Ukraine would not exceed “the threshold of belligerence”, and that, given the aggressiveness of Russia, the West must “consider new actions in support of Ukraine”, said the head of French diplomacy, referring to demining, cyber operations or the production of weapons on Ukrainian territory.
“Some of these actions may require a presence on Ukrainian territory without crossing the threshold of belligerence,” said Séjourné.
Until now, sending Western troops into the field has been an absolute taboo, with NATO members eager to avoid escalation with a nuclear-armed Russia.
But several red lines fell as the conflict progressed, with a gradual increase in the range of weapons supplied to Ukraine, such as the sending of French and British long-range cruise missiles capable of reaching Russia, which two years ago was considered unthinkable.
Most of the main parties involved distanced themselves from the scenario, such as Germany, through Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who guaranteed that “no soldiers” will be sent to Ukraine by European countries or NATO.
The German leader also recalled that what was decided among Europeans from the beginning “remains valid for the future”, namely that “there will be no troops on the ground, nor soldiers sent by European states or NATO to Ukrainian soil”. “It is important to always ensure this,” added Scholz.
Speech that was repeated in several countries, such as Italy, Spain Sweden, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland or the United Kingdom.
Only the Slovak Prime Minister, Robert Fico, said that this apparent consensus is not so unanimous, revealing that there are “countries that are ready to send their own soldiers to Ukraine, others say ‘never’ — Slovakia is one of them — and others still believe that this proposal should be studied.”
Decision of each State
“NATO allies are providing unprecedented support to Ukraine. We have been doing this since 2014 and intensified after the large-scale invasion.
But there are no plans for NATO combat troops on the ground in Ukraine,” said Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Brussels said that it is the responsibility of each European Union country to decide to send military personnel to Ukraine. “But this was not discussed at EU level.
The time is for a pluralistic discussion between Member States […]but the way to make contributions to Ukraine is a sovereign prerogative of the Member States”, recalled a spokesperson for the European Commission.
The Kremlin suggested that a conflict between Russia and NATO would become inevitable if the Alliance’s European members sent troops to Ukraine.
“The very fact of discussing the possibility of sending certain contingents from NATO countries to Ukraine is a very important new element,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. “In that case, we would need to talk not about the probability, but about the inevitability [de um conflito direto]”.
Opposition at internal level
Also in France, Emmanuel Macron’s proposal was poorly received by the entire opposition, with criticism coming from the left and the right. The French Socialist Party demanded a debate in Parliament on the issue, but also a meeting of all political party leaders with the president. “Supporting the Ukrainian resistance: yes.
Going to war with Russia and dragging down an entire continent: Madness”, wrote on the social network X (formerly Twitter) Olivier Faure, leader of the PSF.
Still on the left, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the New Popular Ecologist and Social Union coalition, used the same social network to say that a “war against Russia would be madness”.
On the other side of the political spectrum, Éric Ciotti, president of Les Républicains, said that Macron’s comments were “fraught with terrible consequences” and were made “without the slightest parliamentary debate”. Marine Le Pen, from Réunion National, accused Macron of “playing at being a war chief”.
Zelensky discusses Riyadh mediation
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Saudi Arabia to discuss with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman mediation in the exchange of prisoners of war between Ukraine and Russia.
“Kingdom leadership [da Arábia Saudita] has already contributed to the liberation of our people. I am confident that this meeting will also produce results”, said the Ukrainian leader on the X social network.
Another topic of talks will be the “peace formula” proposed by Kiev to put an end to the Russian invasion.
In September 2022, Saudi Arabia played an unexpected role as mediator that resulted in the transfer to Riyadh of ten foreign prisoners of war, including two Americans and five Britons who fought alongside the Ukrainians.