French President Emmanuel Macron, as European leaders wrapped up a summit at which they agreed to step up efforts to supply more weapons to Kyiv, admitted the possibility that European countries could send troops to Ukraine, explaining that there was no consensus on the issue yet, on Monday, the 27th of February, reports Politico.
Monday’s crisis meeting in support of Ukraine was attended by European leaders, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, UK Foreign Minister David Cameron, as well as delegations from the US and Canada.
“We are convinced that Russia’s defeat is necessary for security and stability in Europe,” President Macron was quoted as saying.
While he did not rule out the possibility of sending Western ground troops to Ukraine, he acknowledged the existing differences between the allies, stressing that there is no formal consensus on the deployment of troops.
“We will do everything to ensure that Russia cannot win this war”,
he said, adding that anything is possible and that “it cannot be ruled out that there may be a need for security, which would then justify” the deployment of forces.
The issue was first raised publicly by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who revealed that a document issued ahead of the summit suggested that NATO and European Union (EU) member states should consider sending troops to Ukraine. Fico said that some countries were ready to send troops to Ukraine, while others, including Slovakia, were totally opposed to the idea.
Macron also announced that the leaders had agreed to set up a deep strike coalition focusing on medium and long-range missiles, without specifying when these weapons would be delivered.
Although France and the UK have already sent missiles to Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reiterated on Monday that his government does not support the delivery of long-range Taurus missiles to Kyiv.
Ahead of Monday’s summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated the EU’s commitment to ammunition deliveries, stressing that the one million munitions promised by March had only been delivered 30% instead of 50% as promised, underlining that the EU has failed to meet its commitments at a time when Ukraine urgently needs military support.
On Monday evening, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala announced that he had received ” big support” from his European partners at talks in Paris for his proposal to provide Kyiv with ammunition from non-EU countries, seeking alternatives to the US blocked aid package and delays in EU deliveries.
The French President expressed his openness to this initiative, marking a significant shift in the French position, which had previously warned against buying arms outside the EU in order to maintain support for European defence manufacturers.
Also read: Zelenskyy says 31 000 Ukrainian soldiers have fallen in two years of Russian invasion
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