French President Emmanuel Macron said that he is not thinking about sending French troops to Ukraine in the near future. At the same time, he opens a debate on this topic.
He said this in an interview with the Czech news portal Novinky and the newspaper Pravo.
"This does not mean that we are considering sending French troops to Ukraine in the near future, but that we are opening a debate and thinking about everything that can be done to support Ukraine, especially on Ukrainian territory," Macron explained.
And he told details about the meeting of 26 heads of state in Paris. The meeting participants agreed on five directions that they want to strengthen: cyber defense, joint production of military equipment in Ukraine, the security of countries directly threatened by Russiaʼs war in Ukraine, in particular Moldova, the ability to support Ukraine on the border with Belarus, and demining operations.
What preceded
Following the meeting of European leaders in Paris on February 26, French President Emmanuel Macron said that he does not rule out the possibility of sending ground troops to Ukraine to support it in the war with Russia.
"Today there is no consensus on sending ground troops, but nothing can be ruled out. We will do everything in our power so that Russia does not win," Macron said at the time.
The president refused to specify which countries allow the possibility of sending troops, but noted that it is important to maintain some "strategic ambiguity." His statement provoked a series of questions to the leaders of NATO countries from journalists. After that, NATO allies, in particular the United States and Germany, began to say that they did not intend to send troops.
Macron later said in comments to journalists that all his comments about the war between Ukraine and Russia were "carefully thought out."
"These are quite serious questions; every word I say on this matter is thought out and measured," Macron told reporters. He refused further comments.