No country in the international coalition that helps Kyiv resist Russian aggression has joined this Tuesday in the attitude of French President Emmanuel Macron, who yesterday surprised allies by ensuring that the sending of Western ground troops cannot be ruled out. to Ukraine. The contradictory message given to Putin reveals a worrying lack of coherence at a critical moment in the war, with Russian forces on the offensive.
At the end of a meeting at the Elysée on Monday night to reaffirm support for Ukraine, in which leaders from more than twenty countries participated, Macron explained that “there is no consensus today to send ground troops, so official, assumed and consistent” in support of Kyiv, although this is an option that is already being discussed. “We will do whatever it takes to ensure that Russia cannot win this war,” he added.
Macron was answered more or less emphatically from almost all the capitals, from Berlin to Madrid, from London to Rome, and also from NATO. Russia’s reaction, predictable, was very harsh. Kremlin spokesman Dimitri Peskov warned that, in the case of sending Alliance combat troops to Ukraine, “we would not speak of the probability but of the inevitability” of a direct conflict.
The strongest and harshest contradiction came from a very close ally, Germany, with which France has had important differences since the invasion. Chancellor Olaf Scholz was blunt in stating that “no soldiers will be sent” by the European partners. “That cannot be an option and it will not be,” Defense Minister Boris Pistorius supported him on a visit to Vienna. The Vice Chancellor and Minister of the Economy, Robert Habeck, even allowed himself to be ironic about France and criticize its double language. “I like that France is thinking about helping Ukraine more, but if I can make a suggestion, that she send more weapons,” Habeck said.
From London, a spokesman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak indicated that the United Kingdom does not foresee a large-scale sending of troops, although he admitted that the British already have a small contingent of personnel in Ukraine “to help the Ukrainian armed forces.” , especially in the field of medical training”.
“NATO and its allies are providing unprecedented military support to Ukraine,” said NATO sources from Brussels. “We have done so since 2014 and intensified it after Russia’s large-scale invasion. But there are no plans for NATO troops. NATO combat on the ground in Ukraine”
The spokesperson for the Spanish Government, Pilar Alegría, added her voice to those opposed to direct intervention with troops. “We do not agree and we also have to concentrate on what is urgent, which is to accelerate the delivery of material,” said Alegría at the press conference in Madrid after the usual Tuesday meeting of the Executive.
Even among countries closer to Russia and sensitive to the war there was no support for Macron’s words. “There is no intention to send our troops to Ukraine and we have a common position on this point,” declared Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk during a press conference with his Czech counterpart Petr Fiala. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, whose country will soon join NATO, recalled that there has been no request for troops from Kyiv. Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte denied that the issue had been discussed at the Elysee meeting.
Hungary and Slovakia not only do not want to send troops but propose negotiating with Russia to end the war, although they recognize that Moscow violated international law. Prime Ministers Viktor Orbán and Robert Fico said this during a meeting of the Visegrad Group in Prague.
From Washington, which since the beginning of the invasion ruled out sending soldiers, a White House spokesperson reiterated to the Reuters agency that the position remains unchanged, that there are no plans to send its own troops, nor does NATO have any.
In France, Macron’s statement was also surprising, especially because at the beginning of the conflict he adopted a much softer attitude and went so far as to say, to the indignation of Ukrainians and several Eastern European countries, that Russia should not be “humiliated.” The French president is always willing to enhance his international prominence, sometimes to compensate for serious national internal management problems. Paris is well aware that it is a global power for several reasons: it has an autonomous nuclear deterrence arsenal and has a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, which gives it the right to veto.
