Le Monde: France has been considering 'sending troops to the ground' in Ukraine for months
(Baonghean.vn) - The newspaper wrote that the transformation from a peaceful to a hawkish, belligerent stance of French President Emmanuel Macron began last summer.
According to the French newspaper Le Monde, the idea of sending Western troops to Ukraine was discussed secretly in Paris as early as June last year, months before French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to consider all options to defeat Russia.
The French newspaper wrote on March 14 that the topic was raised at a meeting of the defense council at the Elysee Palace in June 2023, shortly after Kiev launched its highly publicized counteroffensive.
“The role of the army is to always prepare the maximum number of possible options, in order to support the political-military decisions of the President of the Republic,” Pierre Schill, Chief of Staff of the French Army, told Le Monde.
The general argued that Mr Macron’s recent public statements were “first and foremost a political and strategic message” to Russia about France’s “will and commitment”, rather than an escalation.
After a summit of Ukraine’s donor countries held in Paris in late February, Mr Macron said no consensus had been reached on sending troops in any formal way, but declared that “in terms of dynamics, we cannot rule anything out”.
The controversial statement sparked protests from NATO members including the US, UK, Italy, Spain and the Czech Republic. The US-led bloc’s leader flatly stated that “NATO has no plans to send troops to Ukraine.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also said there would be "no soldiers on the ground in Ukraine sent by European countries or NATO" and that the bloc's leaders were "unanimous on this issue".
However, the French leader has repeatedly said that nothing should be ruled out to ensure that Russia is defeated in Ukraine.
“With determination, will and courage, we must say that we are ready to use the means to achieve our goal – that Russia does not win,” Macron said again in a television interview with TF1 and France 2 on March 14. While refusing to draw red lines, Macron said France would never initiate an attack against Russia, even as he called Moscow an “enemy.”
The latest rift between the French and German leaders has exacerbated an already strained relationship, with Macron reportedly making statements “against Chancellor Scholz’s wishes,” Bloomberg wrote in early March.
Politico said on March 13 that the leaders of the two countries are expected to meet in Berlin on March 15 (local time) in an effort to ease tensions over Ukraine, while Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk will also join the meeting later in the day.
