“There is no consensus today to send ground troops in an official, hypothetical and authorized manner. But dynamically, nothing should be excluded. We will do everything necessary to ensure that Russia cannot win this war”, the French president explained after the international. Convention in favor of Ukraine.
The head of state did not want to say more about France's position on the issue, citing “strategic ambiguity that I accept.”
But “I'm not saying absolutely that France is not in favor of it,” he cautioned. “I will not remove the ambiguity of this evening's debates by naming names. I will say that the preferences are mentioned,” he added.
This option has not been mentioned by France before. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, questioned at the end of the meeting at the Elysee, assured that the question of sending in ground troops was not on the agenda.
“Many people who say 'never, never' today are the same two years ago who said 'never tanks, never planes, never long-range missiles,'” continued Emmanuel Macron. “We must humbly note that we are often six to twelve months late. That is the purpose of this evening's debate: anything is possible if it is effective in achieving our goal.”
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Nevertheless, the French president recalled that Ukraine's allies “are not at war with the Russian people,” but they “don't want to allow Ukraine to win.”
Emmanuel Macron also announced the creation of a new alliance dedicated to supplying medium- and long-range missiles, amid Ukrainian concerns over the quantity and delivery schedule of the already planned munitions.
He listed five “categories of action” with consensus: cyber-defence; co-production of weapons, military capabilities and ammunition in Ukraine; the security of countries directly threatened by Ukraine's aggression, such as Moldova; “Ability to support Ukraine along its border with Belarus with non-military forces” and demining operations.
“We firmly believe that the defeat of Russia is essential for security and stability in Europe,” the head of state repeated after a long meeting at the Elysée, which began late in the afternoon and ended late Monday evening.
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