2024-05-06 22:32:46
Emmanuel Macron, Western soldiers, NATO experiencing war fatigue in Ukraine?”>Ukraine and Russia. The script repeats itself, with immediate effect on relations between Paris and Moscow in a crucial phase of the war between Ukraine and Russia. The president had crossed the undrawn red line of geopolitics on February 26.
“Several member countries of NATO and the European Union are considering sending soldiers to Ukrainian territory on a bilateral basis”, he declared at the Elysée Palace, on the occasion of the conference in support of Ukraine in which 21 heads of state and of government.
Then, on May 3, the British Foreign Secretary, David Cameron, verbally broke another taboo, saying he was in favor of using weapons supplied by London to Kiev to attack targets inside Russia.
Ukraine, he said, ”absolutely has the right” to react to Russian aggression. “It is up to the Ukrainians to decide how to use these weapons. They are defending their country, they have been illegally invaded by Putin and they must fight back. We want to be absolutely clear: Russia launched an attack on Ukraine and Ukraine absolutely has the right to counterattack Russia”.
Then, in an interview with the Economist published earlier this month, Macron reiterated that sending military forces to Ukraine was not ruled out if Moscow “broke the front lines” and if Kiev asked for it, but “it is not the case today”. “Discarding it out of hand would mean not having learned lessons from the last two years.”
Macron reiterated his February statements. “Absolutely,” he replied when asked if he confirmed the possibility of sending French forces to Ukrainian territory. “Today there is no consensus between NATO and European Union countries to officially send, hire and approve their soldiers on Ukrainian territory on a bilateral basis.” “As I said, I don’t rule anything out because we’re dealing with a person who doesn’t rule anything out. We were too hesitant in formulating limits on our action against someone who doesn’t have any and who is the aggressor,” He said.
In the last few hours, the new response has arrived from Moscow. The French president’s statements “are striking in their irresponsibility and recklessness”, according to a note from the Russian Foreign Ministry in relation to the tactical nuclear exercises that Moscow announced yesterday.
It is “difficult” to perceive the words uttered by Macron, observes the Foreign Ministry, if not as “a manifestation of willingness and intention to enter into a direct armed conflict with Russia, which would mean a frontal military clash between the nuclear powers “.
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