France’s President Emmanuel Macron has not ruled out sending Western soldiers to Ukraine. “There is currently no consensus on this,” Macron said at the conclusion of an international Ukraine conference in Paris. “But nothing must be excluded in order to achieve the goal.” The goal is that Russia is not allowed to win.
The populist Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico had previously said that individual Western countries would stop sending their soldiers to the country Ukraine envisage. “I didn’t say that France wasn’t open to it,” Macron said. Rather, he admits to a “strategic ambiguity”. Each country can decide independently and sovereignly about the deployment of ground troops.
As Macron said, a coalition of states was formed at the meeting to provide Ukraine with missiles for attacks far behind Russian lines. In the short term, the states also wanted to mobilize additional ammunition for Ukraine from their own national stocks. A decision has not been made to deliver French Mirage fighter jets, but it is still being examined to see which French military material could help Ukraine.
Scholz confirms Taurus rejection
“I would like to remind you that two years ago some of this group said that they wanted to deliver sleeping bags and helmets,” said Macron, probably alluding to Germany’s hesitation about arms deliveries at the beginning of the war. “Today they also say that missiles and tanks must be delivered.”
Before the conference began, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) reiterated his rejection of long-range Taurus cruise missiles. Scholz wants to prevent Germany from becoming involved in the war. Scholz is said to have said before the conference that there should be no Bundeswehr soldiers on Ukrainian soil. Politicians from the coalition partners FDP and Greens have repeatedly criticized this attitude.
The chairwoman of the Bundestag Defense Committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP), told the television channel Welt that Scholz was wrong in claiming that Bundeswehr soldiers had to go to Ukraine to prepare for the deployment of cruise missiles. “In this case, the programming can take place in Germany, or the Ukrainian soldiers must be taught it here.” She also countered fears that the missiles could be reprogrammed Russia to attack. There are already a lot of German-made programmed weapons in Ukraine, said Strack-Zimmermann: “If that is the argument, we would have to immediately withdraw all automatic weapons that respond to attacks. I think that is pretextual.”
The Green Bundestag Vice President Katrin Göring-Eckardt said this Editorial Network Germany: “No one who demands Taurus for Ukraine wants Germany to become a warring party.” For peace in Europe and beyond, it is essential that Ukraine wins the defensive battle.
“Russian defeat is important for Europe’s security”
At Macron’s invitation, 21 European heads of state and government met in Paris to discuss further aid to Ukraine. The reason for this is the fact that Russia’s position is becoming increasingly hardened, explained Macron. This can be seen in the planning of new attacks in Ukraine, in the death of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, but also in destabilization campaigns in Western countries.
“The Russian defeat is important for the security of Europe,” said Macron. Ukraine needs to be supported even more and better than before. Macron welcomed Estonia’s proposal to take on joint debt to finance military aid to Ukraine.
Netherlands wants to give 100 million for ammunition procurement
The Czech initiative to purchase ammunition for Ukraine from non-European countries was also a topic at the conference. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced that his country wanted to contribute more than 100 million euros. For his part, Macron said that a plan for the purchase of ammunition would be presented in the coming days.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that the EU had fallen even further short of its promise to deliver one million rounds of artillery ammunition in 2023 than previously known. Only 30 percent have been delivered so far. “That was a careless promise,” said Macron.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron has not ruled out sending Western soldiers to Ukraine. “There is currently no consensus on this,” Macron said at the conclusion of an international Ukraine conference in Paris. “But nothing must be excluded in order to achieve the goal.” The goal is that Russia is not allowed to win.
The populist Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico had previously said that individual Western countries would stop sending their soldiers to the country Ukraine envisage. “I didn’t say that France wasn’t open to it,” Macron said. Rather, he admits to a “strategic ambiguity”. Each country can decide independently and sovereignly about the deployment of ground troops.