French President Emmanuel Macron made people sit up and pay attention when he said Western ground forces in Ukraine could no longer be excluded. Macron received criticism from several sides, including Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP). Instead, he called for a “diplomatic perspective.”
Macron’s statements at a Ukrainian summit in Paris go “in the opposite direction” of what is currently needed, namely a “diplomatic perspective,” Schallenberg criticized. “There was clearly no consensus on this at all in Paris yesterday,” he emphasized. “And it’s quite astonishing when you take an issue on which there is no consensus and thereby create a debate that we don’t really need,” the foreign minister said before departing on a four-day trip to the Middle East that was expected to last . him to Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Lebanon.
“No problem” for Germans, Swedes and Czechs
For the Greens in Germany, the deployment of Western ground troops in Ukraine is also not up for discussion. “It’s no problem at all. It is not a topic of discussion in Germany or in any alliance,” Omid Nouripour, leader of the Green Party, said on NTV on Tuesday. Regarding statements made by the French head of state, Nouripour said: “I experienced a moody Macron who simply wanted to say: ‘I don’t want to rule anything out.’ The parliamentary director of the Union faction, Thorsten Frei (CDU), also reacted negatively to Macron’s statements. Western ground forces in Ukraine are not under discussion, Frei said on rbb Inforadio. However, further arms aid to Ukraine is crucial to defend itself against Russia.
The Prime Ministers of the Czech Republic and Sweden, Petr Fiala and Ulf Kristersson, also expressed their opposition to Macron’s statements about ground troops. The Czech Republic is not considering sending soldiers to Ukraine, Fiala said. For Sweden, sending Western soldiers to Ukraine is currently “not a problem,” Kristersson said. Currently, “we are busy sending advanced equipment to Ukraine.” Kristersson said there was no request for ground troops from the Ukrainian side.
It didn’t take long for a statement to arrive from Moscow either. According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, sending troops to Ukraine would be “not in the interests” of Western states. They must be “aware” of this. The fact that this possibility is now being discussed is a “very important new element” in the conflict, Peskov emphasized on Tuesday.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
