French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the war in Ukraine with The Economist.
He said France could send troops if Ukraine requests them in response to a Russian breakthrough.
His remarks about French soldiers defending Ukraine were among the most hawkish ever uttered by a Western leader.
French President Emmanuel Macron has reaffirmed that he would consider sending French troops to Ukraine and clarified the conditions under which this could take place.
Speaking to The Economist, Macron described the urgent threat that Russian President Vladimir Putin poses to Europe following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
“I do not exclude anything, because we are facing someone who excludes nothing,” Macron said when asked about his earlier comments that NATO troops could be deployed to help defend Ukraine.
“We were probably too hesitant in defining the limits of our action to someone who no longer has them and who is the aggressor,” he continued.
He said he would consider sending French troops to Ukraine “if the Russians crossed the front lines, if there was a Ukrainian request, which is not the case today.”
He added that if Russia defeated Ukraine, it would likely seek to attack another European country.
In recent months, political and military leaders have issued increasingly stark warnings about the possible consequences of a Russian victory in Ukraine.
Macron’s remarks about sending French troops to defend Ukraine are among the most hawkish by a Western leader.
Ukraine has struggled to prevent Russia from breaking its defensive lines in the face of blocked U.S. aid. And although the $61 billion aid bill was recently passed, Ukraine continues to struggle to contain intensifying Russian attacks.
Although NATO countries have sent money and weapons to help Ukraine, they have avoided direct confrontation, fearing an escalation of conflict with a nuclear-armed Russia.
Under Article 5 of NATO’s founding treaty, members undertake to defend each other in the event of attack.
In response to Macron’s earlier remarks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said deploying NATO troops to Ukraine would lead to war between Russia and the alliance.
“We should talk not about probability, but about inevitability,” Peskov said, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Analysts recently spoke with Business Insider about the likelihood of Russia attacking NATO, with Russian military expert Ruth Deyermond saying Putin’s regime was too weak militarily to risk direct confrontation with NATO.
In the interview with The Economist, Macron said he was determined to prevent a Russian victory.
“We must not rule out anything,” he said, “because our goal is that Russia can never win in Ukraine.”
Read the original article on Business Insider
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