France does not rule out potential participation of European forces in Ukraine war
None of the options, including the involvement of Europe’s ground forces, should be ruled out to achieve the goal, since everything must be done to make sure Russia does not prevail in Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron said this after an international Ukraine support meeting held in Paris on Monday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
“Nothing should be ruled out from the dynamics perspective. We will do everything necessary to prevent Russia from winning this war. I say it with resolve, but also with the collective understanding that we have been looking back at the past two years. Many people who say ‘never’ were the same people who said ‘never’ to tanks, ‘never’ to aircraft, and ‘never’ to long-range missiles," Macron said, answering questions about the possibility of putting Europe’s soldiers on the ground in Ukraine.
“I absolutely did not say that France did not support this position. I just say it was mentioned during the meeting as one of the options,” he said.
Macron also recalled that two years ago, many of his counterparts said “we will offer sleeping bags and helmets. And today they say we need to work quicker and more persistently to send missiles and tanks. "
According to the French leader, Europe often lags six to 12 months behind schedule, but after this meeting everything should change. Today, priority is ammunition, so Europe is ready for a kind of Projectile Land Lease for Ukraine.
"We all commit to get to the substance of stocks that are still available, to determine which ones can still be mobilized for different categories of ammunition, as well as to work on all the new solutions that are being put on the table," Macron said. He stated the parties are also aware of the problem of a shortage of the necessary components, including gunpowder, so it should be resolved, too.
France also supported Czechia’s proposal for the purchase of artillery shells for Ukraine in markets beyond the EU.
“We will look at this in more detail in the next 10 days, but we are fully open to it. The only goal is to be effective in helping Ukrainians,” Macron emphasized.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, Europe will help Ukraine take the initiative and act together at a time of uncertainty over the U.S. assistance. The result of a strategic meeting of EU leaders in Paris was the creation of a coalition for long-range missile strikes.
Photo: LP/Arnaud Journois