On Thursday, March 14, French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated his stance that the possibility of deploying Western troops into Ukraine should not be dismissed, although he emphasized that the current circumstances do not necessitate such action.
However, Macron emphasized the significance of the conflict in Ukraine, describing it as “existential for our Europe and for France.” He further stated that anyone proposing restrictions on aid to Ukraine is effectively opting for defeat, as reported by Le Monde.
In an interview on French national television, Macron said a Russian victory in Ukraine “would reduce Europe’s credibility to zero,” and would mean that “we have no security.”
Speaking on TF1 and France 2, Macron was asked about the prospect of sending Western troops to Ukraine, which he publicly raised last month in comments that prompted pushback from other European leaders.
“We’re not in that situation today,” he said, but added that “all these options are possible.”
Macron said that responsibility for prompting such a move would lie with Moscow – “It wouldn’t be us – and said France would not lead an offensive into Ukraine. But he also said, “Today, to have peace in Ukraine, we must not be weak.”
He said that the continent’s security was “at stake” in the conflict which he said “is existential for our Europe and for France.” He added that “if the situation should deteriorate, we would be ready to make sure that Russia never wins that war.”
He said there had been “too many limits in our vocabulary” since the Russian invasion in February 2022.
“Two years ago we said we would never send tanks. We did. Two years ago, we said we would never send medium-range missiles. We did,” he said. “Those who say ‘let’s not support Ukraine’ do not make the choice of peace, they make the choice of defeat,” he added.
