War in Ukraine. Macron does not rule out the possibility of sending troops if the Russians “manage to overcome the front lines”

“If the Russians crossed the front line, if there was a Ukrainian request – which is not the case currently – we should legitimately ask ourselves the question.”the French president told The Economist newspaper, reiterating his belief in the need to maintain “strategic ambiguity” in the face of Vladimir Putin. “We must not exclude anything because our objective is for Russia to never win,” said Emmanuel Macron.

In an interview with The Economist, the French president highlighted that he has “a clear strategic objective: Russia cannot win in Ukraine”arguing that if this happens there will no longer be security in Europe. “As I said, I don’t exclude anything, because we have someone in front of us who doesn’t exclude anything”reaffirmed Macron, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

After causing controversy at the end of February when he stated that the deployment of Western troops to Ukraine should not “be excluded” in the future, the French head of state once again insisted that “exclude him from priori It would be not learning the lessons of the last two years.”when NATO countries initially ruled out sending tanks and planes to Ukraine before changing their minds.

“Too hesitant in formulating limits”

“Who can pretend that Russia is going to stay here? What security will there be for the other neighboring countries, Moldova, Romania, Poland, Lithuania and many others? And what credibility would the Europeans have if they had spent billions, if had said that the survival of the continent was at stake and had not provided themselves with the means to stop Russia?”, asked Emmanuel Macron. “So yes, we shouldn’t exclude anything”he reiterated.

Although most Western countries have distanced themselves from the French leader’s position in responding to the conflict in Ukraine, Macron argued this Thursday that European countries are “too hesitant in formulating limits” and should sit “around the table to build a coherent framework” in defense matters. “NATO is one of those answers, it’s not about putting NATO aside, but (that) this framework is much broader”, he added.

w/agencies