Eastern Europe expert – “If you are weak, Putin will bite!”

According to media reports, Britain and France are apparently discussing sending NATO troops to Ukraine. French President Emanuel Macron in particular has made a name for himself as the biggest supporter of a tougher war course. Dubowy sees two crucial reasons for Macron’s proposal to send NATO troops. From Macron’s point of view, the main reason is to position France as an active player within the EU and within NATO in the time he has left, Dubowy said. “With such demands, Emmanuel Macron is trying to portray himself as a very central player within NATO.”

Putin only speaks the ‘language of strength’
The second reason is that Macron is one of the few Western political actors who understands how to talk to Vladimir Putin. “He understood that Putin only speaks the language of strength. Weakness does not deter Vladimir Putin. Weakness does not make him less aggressive; on the contrary: the opposite is the case. If you are weak, Putin will bite. This means that Emmanuel Macron is definitely indicating a very strong position on the NATO side.” Whether this deployment of NATO troops will ever actually take place remains to be seen. “Many promises have already been made on the western side, which unfortunately have not been kept,” said Dubowy.

Dubowy does not see the fact that the US, after much hesitation, is allowing Ukrainian forces to fire on Russian positions with long-range missiles as a further escalation of the conflict. “This plan was discussed for a long time by US President Joe Biden so that Russia could prepare for the scenario.”

If the conflict freezes, it is important that the West offers Ukraine security. This has nothing to do with belligerence, Dubowy said. “Credible military deterrence prevents any military conflict. This means that anyone on the Western side today who demands a credible military deterrent against Russia is certainly not a warmonger.”

Watch the entire interview with Alexander Dubowy in the video above!