France’s Macron doesn’t rule out troops for Ukraine
Al Jazeera
French president says in interview that ‘if Russia wins in Ukraine, there will be no security in Europe’.
French President Emmanuel Macron said he has not ruled out sending ground troops to Ukraine if Russia breaks through Ukrainian front lines and the government in Kyiv made such a request.
In an interview with The Economist published on Thursday, Macron reaffirmed his previous statements backing Ukraine in the face of Russia’s battlefield advances.
“If the Russians were to break through the front lines, if there were a Ukrainian request, which is not the case today, we would legitimately have to ask ourselves this question,” he said.
Asked if he stood by comments earlier this year about not excluding the sending of Western troops to Ukraine, Macron said: “Absolutely. As I said, I’m not ruling anything out, because we are facing someone who is not ruling anything out.”
European countries need to protect themselves, the French president said, adding that Russia has been aggressive in destabilising the region, including by threatening to use nuclear weapons.
