At the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed that France seeks ‘direct’ entry into the Ukraine war.
According to the Kremlin, France, a NATO member, is quickly turning into a “direct” player in the crisis in Ukraine, which poses a serious threat to sharply increase tensions and take the fight beyond, maybe outside of Ukraine’s borders.
On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to establish a French training program for Ukrainian pilots and deliver Mirage fighter jets to Kiev. While Zelensky and Biden were in France honoring and attending activities marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day, he made this statement. Macron even went so far as to reiterate his demand that Western nations be prepared to dispatch soldiers into Ukraine.
“Macron demonstrates absolute support for the Kyiv regime and declares readiness for France’s direct participation in the military conflict,” said Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for the Kremlin.
Speaking on the margins of the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday, Peskov stated, “We consider these statements to be very, very provocative, inflaming tensions on the continent and not conducive to anything positive.”
Despite repeated warnings from Moscow, Macron has continued as planned, as noted by The Washington Post:
The comment, made in a news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, is the latest sign that France and other allies may now be willing to put NATO country troops on Ukrainian soil — an idea that some allies, including the United States, have long considered potentially escalatory.
Macron on Friday called Ukraine’s request for in-country training “legitimate” and said several partners have “already given their agreement.”
“We are going to use the coming days to finalize a coalition, as broad as possible,” he said.
According to some sources, President Biden has convinced Macron against placing Western forces in Ukraine; nonetheless, Biden’s main point seems to be that NATO consensus is required before taking any action.
Such a strategy would put NATO’s Article 5 common defense treaty into play and might lead to a nuclear arms race between the West and Russia.
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Macron declared that Russia could not “win” the conflict, but he has never clarified what he means by this, just like all the other NATO leaders. Maybe he’s talking about bringing Russia to a complete halt and then reaching a compromise settlement. However, in private discussions, French officials merely restate the American stance that only the Ukrainians are capable of bringing about peace; the Ukrainian demands for peace do not call for a standstill but rather Russia’s total military defeat.
It ought to be clear that Europe needs to build up its self-defense capabilities. After fully aligning with the Biden administration, European nations have just recently come to terms with the possibility that Donald Trump may be the next president and that American support for Europe may decline significantly. Whether or not Trump is elected, this commitment is probably going to wane in the future given American issues at home and in the Middle East, as well as rising tensions with China.
Macron, however, greatly exaggerates both French military might and the desire of Europe to follow France’s example. Macron hopes that the perceived threat presented by Russia would force Europe to come together militarily behind French leadership. The French army is much too weak to act in Ukraine without full U.S. support after years of budget cuts. Fearing an embarrassing Anglo-French failure, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France begged President Obama, who was reluctant to take over the operation on behalf of NATO, a few weeks after he attempted to lead the “humanitarian intervention” in Libya in 2011.
Macron’s tough attitude on Ukraine is aimed at his East European allies in an attempt to win over other European nations. But these are also the nations most firmly committed to opposing European strategic autonomy and preserving the strongest possible alliance with the United States through any means necessary.
Recently, GreatGameIndia reported that Lt. Gen. Alexander Sollfrank, chief of NATO’s Joint Support and Enabling Command, said that NATO plans to send its troops, primarily U.S. soldiers, to the front lines in the conflict against Russia.
One Response
There are lots of old predictions saying the Third World War
would start by Russia attacking France.
I never understood that until now!
France has already started WWIII by attacking Russia!
Macaroni thinks he’s Napoleon!
France is a 3rd World Muslim Sh-thole and I hope it gets exactly what it deserves!
GO, RUSSIA!