Macron tells conditions under which NATO troops can be sent to Ukraine

The French president said this in an interview with The Economist.

When asked whether he remains faithful to his words regarding the possible deployment of ground troops to Ukraine, Macron said: "Absolutely". He emphasized that he was not ruling anything out, just as Russian President Vladimir Putin was not ruling anything out. 

"We have undoubtedly been too indecisive in defining the limits of our actions in the face of someone who no longer has them and who is the aggressor. Our ability to be trustworthy, to continue to help, to give Ukraine the means to resist, is our responsibility. But our credibility also depends on our ability to deter without giving a full picture of what we will or will not do. Otherwise, we weaken ourselves, and this is the framework within which we have acted so far," Macron said. 

He noted that many countries supported this approach and agreed with France's position. Macron said that his strategic goal is to prevent Russia's victory in Ukraine, as otherwise "there will be no security in Europe" because it is unknown whether Russia will stop there. 

"What will the security be like for other neighboring countries - Moldova, Romania, Poland, Lithuania and others? What will be the trust in Europeans who would spend billions, say that the continent's survival is at stake, and not give themselves the means to stop Russia? Yes, we should not rule anything out, because our goal is to ensure that Russia can never win in Ukraine," he said. 

The French president indicated that if the Russians broke through the front line and Ukraine sent a request, the option of sending troops would be considered. 

"At the NATO summit in the summer of 2022, we all ruled out the supply of tanks, long-range missiles, and aircraft. Now we are all in the process of doing this, so it would be wrong to exclude the rest," he added. 

• February 26 French President Emmanuel Macron says that the deployment of Western ground troops to combat Russian aggression should not be ruled out in the future.
• February 29 Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas says 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.
• At the same time, 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.