(NationRise.com) – France’s President Emmanuel Macron suggested on February 26 that NATO should send troops to Ukraine to fight against Russian invaders, irritating and confusing some of his allies. During a press conference after a meeting with Western leaders in support of Ukraine, Macron challenged the prevailing stance that sending troops would escalate the risk of war between the Kremlin and NATO. He told reporters that sending Western soldiers wasn’t “ruled out” and that the West must do whatever it takes to “obtain our objective.”
As reported by The Times, the French president also said that “nothing should be excluded” and even claimed that NATO must take all steps to make sure that Russia “doesn’t prevail” in its invasion. Macron added that he believes the Kremlin was preparing to invade many other territories, not only inside Ukraine but also in other nations.
Following his press conference, some smaller NATO nations expressed their disagreements with the French president’s comments. One of these was the Czech Republic, as its Prime Minister Petr Fiala said in a statement that the alliance wasn’t preparing to send troops to Ukraine any time soon.
Sweden, which is not a NATO member yet but will officially join the alliance over the next few days, also expressed disagreement with Macron’s belligerent stance. In a press conference, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said that the French president’s comments were nothing more than a matter for his nation, claiming that France’s involvement in a foreign conflict won’t force NATO to follow.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also said in a statement that the alliance won’t send troops to Russia. However, the Kremlin responded to Macron’s comments by warning of a nuclear war that could even end with civilization if the West decided to attack Russia by joining forces with Ukraine. The Russian government’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said during a press conference in Moscow that Western governments needed to ask themselves if such an aggressive stance corresponds to the interests of their nations’ citizens.
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