Macron and Putin's quarrels reinforce European fears of a nuclear war

Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and French President Emmanuel Macron (left) in an archive photo (Reuters)

Paris -

Before representatives of the National Defense and Armed Forces Committee, French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu explained last week that “France has no intention of sending soldiers to Ukraine to wage war against Russia.”

With these words, the minister tried to deal with the effects of the storm left by the statements of French President Emmanuel Macron during the conference in support of Kiev held in Paris, where he indicated for the first time the possibility of sending ground forces to Ukraine.

But Macron seems determined to stir up more controversy, as he said during his visit to Prague yesterday, Tuesday, “We are certainly approaching in Europe a moment where it will be appropriate not to be cowards,” warning of “powers that have become unstoppable,” and called on Kiev supporters. To "rise to the level of history."

Leadership Europe

From Washington to Berlin and London, all of Kiev's allies rejected Macron's statement, which brought back to the forefront the thorny question about the presence of foreign forces on Ukrainian territory.

Officially, France trains Ukrainian soldiers and sends military equipment, but it does not move directly on the battlefield against the Russian bear.

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, the head of the Center for Foresight and Security in Europe, Emmanuel Depuy, believes that Macron wants to restore European leadership in conjunction with the French Ministry of Defense’s announcement that it will deliver military aid to Ukraine amounting to 2.6 billion euros.

This is explained by what he called the arms race, as Germany is considered the second largest military contributor to the Ukrainian army after the United States.

Therefore, Paris wants to assert its leadership in ensuring security and supporting Kiev, despite other countries, such as Berlin, trying to remind it that it is always faithful to its commitments.

As for former advisor to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Manaf Kilani, he does not believe that Macron seeks this leadership, because he simply realizes the futility of France’s role, whether in the European Union or among Arab allies and friends.

He explained to Al Jazeera Net that Paris has lost everything it stood for since the era of the late President Jacques Chirac, who stripped the country of its military capabilities, industrial tools, and cultural influence.

Today, Macron is following in the footsteps of his predecessors, from Chirac until now.

In the absence of a European security architecture free from NATO, the “Russian threat” represents the main argument to justify the arms race.

On Tuesday, the European Commission revealed its project to strengthen its defense industry with an initial budget of 1.5 billion euros, especially since 68% of arms purchases in the European Union - to support Ukraine - are made through American manufacturing companies, according to European Commissioner Thierry Breton, who is responsible for defense industries.

Hypocrisy war

Russian President Vladimir Putin did not delay in sending a clear warning message to the West, represented by a real threat of nuclear war, in his annual address to the nation, during which he outlines his country’s priorities.

Commenting on this, former advisor Manaf Kilani said, “When we see the advanced weapons provided by Germany, France, and Britain to Ukraine, we do not need to be military experts to know that they will require long months of training for Ukrainian soldiers,” stressing that the spread of these weapons and the sending of armed men from Europe West towards Ukraine is real.

He described the Allies' position as "pure lies" and "pure hypocrisy," referring to the French soldiers who were killed in Kharkiv a few weeks ago by Russian strikes and the failure of the authorities to provide any information about them for the possibility of establishing negotiations to exchange prisoners, in reference to the unequal forces on the battlefield.

In turn, the head of the Center for Foresight and Security in Europe, Emmanuel Dupuy, explains the issue of the asymmetry in the internal war taking place between public opinion in the countries supporting Ukraine. In a poll conducted by the European Council on Foreign Relations, it revealed that 35% of the French are still convinced of the necessity of continuing to arm Ukraine, compared to 41% in Germany, while only 40% of Ukrainians believe in their country's ability to win.

Kilani described Poland as the “tip of the spear” because it is keen to obtain units from Western armies - regardless of their number - openly just to challenge Moscow, stressing that “this extremely dangerous Polish game will lead to a Russian response to targets in Western Europe.”

It is noteworthy that France has not stopped supporting Ukraine since February 24, 2022, by transferring weapons equipment, participating in soldier training programs, and establishing financial mechanisms that allow the equipment to arrive directly to Kiev.

Russian interest

On the other hand, Macron's statements stuck in the throat of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who was quick to respond with a strict tone and accused him - indirectly - of procrastinating since the beginning of the war.

Depuy pointed out the weakness of Berlin's current position after a Russian website revealed a conversation between two German generals on March 1, which raised questions about the strength of securing communications between senior German officers and the Defense Ministry's condemnation of "espionage and an attempt to destabilize" the Russian side.

He does not believe that the current tension between Paris and Berlin is in Moscow's interest, stressing that the real interest is the cyber propaganda and false information work supervised by Russia to try to mislead public opinion and put distance between political leaders and their commitment to continuing to support Ukraine.

This is consistent with Kilani’s opinion, as he pointed out that Russia cannot benefit from the tension between France and Germany in a tangible way, but it may use this to highlight the current contradictions between the two parties and European lies.

On the internal level, Kilani believes that the Proud France Party and the remaining political parties of the Socialist Party do not adopt the government’s own directions regarding aid to Ukraine and NATO policies, while the leader of the extreme right, Marine Le Pen, plays “with her usual hypocrisy and lies” on the ropes of interests in accordance with what suits her interests. Decisions hostile to Moscow and supportive of Kiev should be the first to applaud, sign and vote, according to his expression.

He also warned against violating the French constitution, as the head of state must discuss the reasons for deploying French forces abroad in the National Assembly within 3 days after sending them, adding that “Macron and his aides from the right or left turn a blind eye to that.”

Source: Al Jazeera