French President Emmanuel Macron wanted to create “strategic ambiguity” by openly discussing the idea of sending Western troops to Ukraine, but he was so ambiguous that he sparked confusion and irritation among some allies.
Macron’s comments at a late-night news conference, after he hosted a meeting of Western leaders to rally support for Ukraine, fitted with his reputation as a diplomatic disruptor who likes to break taboos and challenge conventional thinking.
By declining on Monday night to rule out putting Western boots on the ground in Ukraine, Macron was challenging the prevailing view that such a move would gravely escalate the risk of a global war between NATO and Russia.
His comments may turn out to be prescient and pave the way for greater direct Western involvement in the war in Ukraine against Russia’s invasion sometime down the line.
But they also run the risk of undermining the very thing Macron sought to bolster with the Paris meeting – unity among Ukraine’s Western allies as Kyiv’s forces struggle to hold off Russian troops two years into the war.
The White House declared it would not send troops to Ukraine. Germany, Britain, Italy, Spain, Poland and the Czech Republic also all swiftly distanced themselves from the idea.
The Kremlin, meanwhile, said such a move would make a direct conflict between NATO and Russia an “inevitability”.
French officials were sent out to explain that Macron had wanted to stimulate debate and that ideas under discussion involved non-combat troops in roles such as demining, border protection or training Ukrainian forces.
“We must consider new actions to support Ukraine. These must respond to very specific needs, I am thinking in particular of mine clearance, cyberdefence, the production of weapons on site, on Ukrainian territory,” French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne told lawmakers.
FRANCO-GERMAN TENSION
Macron’s comments also risked exacerbating tensions between France and Germany, whose relationship forms the core of European political cooperation.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/macrons-ukraine-troop-talk-shakes-up-nato-allies-2024-02-27/
