-NATO’s secretary-general said ‘’ no plans for NATO combat troops on the ground in Ukraine.”
-French President Macron opened the door to European nations sending troops to Ukrain
-Kremlin warns “Conflict with Nato if the alliance troops fight in Ukraine”.
NATO’s secretary-general has said there are no plans to send troops to Ukraine, as Russia claimed it was ready to enter a direct conflict with the Western military alliance should it put boots on the ground.
Responding to remarks made by French President Macron the previous day, Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday denied that NATO countries were considering the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine amid the Russian invasion.
There are “no plans for NATO combat troops on the ground in Ukraine”, the NATO chief said.
Macron told a meeting of European leaders on Monday that while “there’s no consensus today to send in an official, endorsed manner troops on the ground … nothing can be ruled out”.
Russian Reaction
Russia was quick to leap upon the French leader’s comments.The Kremlin warned on Tuesday that conflict between Russia and the U.S.-led NATO military alliance would be inevitable if European members of NATO sent troops to fight in Ukraine. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called Macron’s suggestion that Western states could send ground troops to Ukraine “a very important new element”.
It is “absolutely not in the interests” of European members of NATO, he told reporters. “In that case, we would need to talk not about the probability, but about the inevitability [of direct conflict].”
While ruling out NATO military action, Stoltenberg again insisted that the alliance would continue to support Kyiv strongly.
“This is a war of aggression by Russia against Ukraine, blatantly violating international law,” he said. “According to international law, Ukraine of course has the right to self-defense, and we have the right to support them in upholding that right.”
French Stance
French President Emmanuel Macron opened the door on Monday to European nations sending troops to Ukrain, although he cautioned that there was no consensus at this stage. Macron was hosting European leaders in Paris when he made his comments, seemingly seeking to position himself as a European champion of Ukraine’s cause at a time when US support is waning.
Insisting Russia’s defeat was absolutely essential for peace and security in Europe, Macron said it was necessary for Europe to move from words into action so clear decisions were made to build a European defence pillar independent of America.
The war in Ukraine has triggered the worst crisis in Russia’s relations with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and President Vladimir Putin has previously warned of the dangers of a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia.
NATO provides Ukraine only non-lethal aid and support, but most alliance members have been sending weapons and ammunition bilaterally or in groups.
After the Russian invasion in 2022, Western leaders said they would help Ukraine defeat Russian troops on the battlefield and drive out Russian troops.
But that has not happened.
Ukraine’s counter offensive in 2023 failed to pierce heavily dug in Russian lines and Russia has been pushing further into Ukrainian territory just as U.S. support for Ukraine is tangled in domestic U.S. political debates.