Ukraine politics
Macron: “No trouble between the Chancellor and me”
French President Emmanuel Macron (l) and Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (r) sometimes have different views when it comes to the Ukraine course. photo
© Michael Kappeler/dpa
France’s president and the chancellor do not always agree when it comes to dealing with Russia’s war of aggression. However, Macron does not see a conflict.
Regardless of recent differences in Ukraine’s course, France’s President sees it Emmanuel Macron is not in a conflict with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). “There has never been any trouble between the Chancellor and me. We have a lot in common in terms of goals and the situation,” Macron told the newspaper Le Parisien after the Berlin meeting with Scholz. “Only the way they are translated is different because the strategic cultures of our countries are different.” Germany has a culture of great caution and non-intervention, while France has nuclear weapons and has maintained and expanded a professional army.
The meeting with Scholz on Friday, which was followed by a three-way conversation with the new Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, followed a Ukraine conference organized by Macron three weeks ago that ended in a scandal. While Macron did not publicly rule out sending ground troops for the first time, Scholz contradicted him several times in the following days and said he would not send Bundeswehr soldiers to Ukraine. Macron told “Parisien” that he then suggested a meeting with Scholz two weeks ago. “I wanted to come to Germany very quickly so that there would be no debate about supposedly existing strategic divergences: they don’t exist.”
Macron wants to be prepared for “all scenarios”.
On the question of ground troops, Macron continued to insist on his position even after the conversation with Scholz. “Perhaps at some point it will be necessary – I do not wish it, I will not initiate it – to have operations on the ground, whatever they may be, to counter the Russian forces. The strength of France is that we can do that,” said the President. “Our duty is to prepare for all scenarios.” It would be a mistake not to do this. “Incidentally, I am convinced that in some of these scenarios, anyone who is capable of doing so with their model would assume their responsibility.”
As Macron told the Paris newspaper, the West should not allow itself to be frightened by Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Putin cultivates a discourse of fear. We must not allow ourselves to be intimidated because we are not dealing with a great power,” said Macron. Despite differences, after the three-party summit in Berlin, Germany, France and Poland vowed to stand together in supporting Ukraine in its defensive battle against Russia.