MOSCOW: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that sending troops to Ukraine was not in the interests of Western countries after French President Emmanuel Macron said the option to send troops to Ukraine against Russia was on the table.
The statement comes in response to recent remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron, who suggested that the option of sending troops to Ukraine remained on the table. Peskov emphasized that many nations were taking a pragmatic view of the potential risks associated with such military deployments.
“This is absolutely not in the interests of these countries; they should be aware of this,” Peskov stated, underscoring the importance of a cautious approach. He highlighted the significance of the discussions surrounding the deployment of NATO contingents to Ukraine as a notable development in the ongoing geopolitical landscape.
The Kremlin spokesman acknowledged Macron’s stance on seeking a strategic defeat for Russia but cautioned against the implications of NATO troops entering Ukraine. When asked about the possibility of direct confrontation between NATO and Russia in such a scenario, Peskov remarked on the inevitability of such a clash.
“In this case, we need to speak not about a possibility but of the inevitability” of confrontation, Peskov stated, urging Western nations to carefully consider the repercussions of escalating tensions in the region.
He emphasized the need for these countries to evaluate whether confrontation served their interests and, more importantly, the interests of their citizens.
Macron Not Ruling Out Sending Western Troops to Ukraine
Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron sent shockwaves across Europe on Tuesday as he refused to rule out the possibility of deploying Western ground troops to Ukraine in response to the ongoing Russian invasion.
The statement came after Macron hosted a conference of European leaders, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Polish President Andrzej Duda, seeking to bolster support for Ukraine, which faces mounting challenges on the battlefield and a diminishing supply of ammunition.
“While there was ‘no consensus’ on sending Western ground troops to Ukraine, ‘nothing should be excluded’,” Macron stated firmly, underscoring the determination to prevent Russia from achieving victory in the conflict.
Macron also took aim at Germany, suggesting that Europe had been slow to respond to the crisis in Ukraine, but emphasized the need for a united front against Russia’s aggression.
“There is in our eyes a change of posture on the part of Russia,” Macron declared, stressing that Russia’s aggression was not limited to Ukraine but posed a threat to Europe as a whole.
Macron announced plans to establish a new coalition to supply Ukraine with advanced weaponry for deep strikes, with support from various European leaders, including Czech Premier Petr Fiala and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
