Macron reaffirms possibility of sending troops to Ukraine
French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed he did not rule out sending
troops to Ukraine, saying the issue would "legitimately" arise if Russia
broke through Ukrainian front lines and Kyiv made such a request, in an
interview with the Economist published Thursday.
The Economist said Macron gave the interview after delivering a keynote speech last week where he declared that Europe is "mortal" and could "die" partly due to the threat posed by Russian aggression after its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
"I'm
not ruling anything out, because we are facing someone who is not
ruling anything out," said Macron when asked if he stood by comments
earlier this year not excluding the sending of Western troops that sent
shockwaves around Europe.
Some analysts believe that Russia could be on the verge of launching a major new offensive in Ukraine.
Macron
said "if Russia decided to go further, we will in any case all have to
ask ourselves this question" of sending troops, describing his refusal
to rule out such a move as a "strategic wake-up call for my counterparts
He described Russia as "a power of regional destabilisation" and "a threat to Europeans' security".
"I have a clear strategic objective: Russia cannot win in Ukraine," Macron said.
"If Russia wins in Ukraine, there will be no security in Europe.
"Who can pretend that Russia will stop there? What security will there be for the other neighbouring countries, Moldova, Romania, Poland, Lithuania and the others?" he asked.
