Macron: Western ground operations in Ukraine may be necessary at one stage (Anatolia)
French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed that his country is ready to respond to another round of escalation by Russia "for the security of Ukraine and all Europeans, but it will not initiate aggression," and at the same time he did not rule out participating in "operations on the ground" in Ukraine.
Macron indicated in an interview with Ukrainian national television that France “has never escalated because the country always bets on peace.”
The French President said: “We believe in negotiations, we have always done so. But in this case, the aggressor is Russia, as it is the one that threatens everything. It is the Kremlin regime that initiates escalation,” adding that he always “defines the dividing line between the Kremlin regime, which has gone off the right track and And the people of Russia, as he put it.
Macron stressed that he had never taken a step towards escalation, stressing at the same time the need for collective responsibility and preparation for any challenge.
Ground operations in Ukraine
In a related context, Macron said in an interview published by Le Parisien newspaper on Saturday evening that ground operations in Ukraine by Westerners may be necessary “at some point.”
The French President explained, "Perhaps at some point - I do not want that and will not take the initiative - there must be operations on the ground, whatever their form, to confront Russian forces."
Macron refuses to rule out the idea of sending ground forces to Ukraine, and his repeated statements on this subject have raised problems among Paris's allies, led by Germany, and were met with almost unanimous rejection from the opposition in France.
Macron ruled out any disagreement between the French and Germans over this issue.
He explained that Germany has a strategic culture of extreme caution and non-interference, and it keeps its distance from nuclear weapons. This is a completely different model from the model of France, which is equipped with nuclear weapons and has maintained and strengthened a professional army.
The French President added that he decided not to visit Kiev at the present time, and instead headed to Berlin on Friday to hold talks with German Chancellor Olaf Schulz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, in a show of unity between the three countries.
The French President also stressed the complementarities in the field of aid that France and Germany can provide, and Macron commented on Russia’s strength, saying: “We must not give in to intimidation. We are not facing a superpower. Russia is a middle power that possesses nuclear weapons, but its gross domestic product is much less than The GDP of the Europeans, and less than the GDP of Germany and France.”
Source: Agencies