"Macron is right": Volker says deployment of Western troops to Ukraine should not be ruled out

He said this in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.

"(French President Emmanuel - ed.) Macron is absolutely right. We should not take things off the table and announce that we're taking things off the table," the diplomat said.

In his opinion, the categorical refusal of some countries to participate in the war was a signal to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin of indecision and lack of commitment on the part of the West.

"All Macron was saying is we shouldn't rule anything out, we shouldn't rule out ground troops. And I completely agree, we should not rule it out. That doesn't mean we should do it now either. That's not what he's saying. Don't take it off the table," Volker emphasized.

He is also convinced that foreign troops could participate in Ukraine's air defense.

"We provide the weapons and ammunition for Ukraine's air defenses, but the reality is that NATO countries are bordering Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, in Hungary, and we've had already instances of missiles going over Polish airspace. And these missiles and drones are aimed at civilians. So, it is perfectly reasonable for NATO countries to begin thinking about helping to take down these missiles and rockets and drones that are attacking civilians as a humanitarian gesture and as an extension of NATO's air defenses because they are actually a risk to NATO as well," Volker said.

"I would think it would be smart to have an air defense dome over everything from Mykolaiv to Romania. That would be very good for the security of transportation, very good for the security of civilians, for the security of shipping. If you had a small contingent of troops, maybe, French that were air defense forces and would be able to protect the sky – I don't see anything wrong with that," he added.

• On February 26, French President Emmanuel Macron said that in the future, the deployment of Western ground troops to combat Russian aggression should not be ruled out.
• On February 29, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that Western leaders should not rule out the possibility of sending NATO troops to Ukraine.
• Czech President Petr Pavel said that support for Ukraine by NATO troops directly on its territory would not violate any international norms.
• On March 8, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that his country does not want to be a party to the war, so it will not deploy troops in Ukraine.