Macron Resumes Idea of Troop Deployment to Ukraine If Russia Breaks Front: What Security for Romania, Moldova?”

French President Emmanuel Macron has again voiced the possibility of sending ground troops to Ukraine if Russia succeeds in breaking the Ukrainian front. The Elysee leader claims in an interview for The Economist that, should Ukraine ask for military aid on the ground, the West cannot ignore it.

Macron says that the objective of the West is clear: Russia must lose this war, otherwise the entire eastern flank – from the Baltic countries and Poland to Romania, plus the Republic of Moldova – is in danger.

French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated the possibility of sending Western troops to the ground in Ukraine, appreciating in an interview published on Thursday by The Economist that we will have to “ask ourselves the question” if Moscow “will manage to break through the front line” and if the authorities from Kiev ask for it.

“If the Russians succeed in breaking through the front line, if there is a Ukrainian demand – which is not the case today – we should legitimately ask ourselves the question,” the French president told the British weekly.

“To rule this out a priori means not learning the lessons of the last two years”, given that NATO countries initially ruled out sending tanks and planes to Ukraine, and eventually changed their minds, he added.

“As I said, I’m not ruling anything out, because we’re dealing with someone who doesn’t rule anything out,” Macron reiterated in The Economist, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“We were probably too hesitant to formulate the limits of our action to someone who no longer has any and who is the aggressor. I have a clear strategic objective: Russia cannot win in Ukraine. If Russia wins in Ukraine, we will no longer have security in Europe. Who can say that Russia will stop there? What security (will there be) for other neighboring countries , the Republic of Moldova, Romania, Poland, Lithuania and many others? And basically, what credibility will the Europeans who spent billions, who declared that the survival of the continent is at stake there and who did not offer the means to stop Russia? So yes, we shouldn’t rule anything out,” Macron insisted.

The French head of state sparked controversy at the end of February, saying that sending Western troops to Ukrainian soil should not be “ruled out” in the future. He explained that he wants to restore “strategic ambiguity” in the European response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Most European countries, as well as the United States, have clearly distanced themselves from his remarks, even if some have since taken a step in that direction.

Hungary retorts: It would mean WWIII

The Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Peter Szijjarto, who was in France on Thursday, expressed concern about the latest statements of President Emmanuel Macron, which he qualified as “threatening”.

“If European or American soldiers set foot on Ukrainian territory, it will mean that we crossed a red line within NATO. If a NATO member state sends soldiers to Ukraine, it means that there will be a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia. This means a Third World War”, warned the head of Hungarian diplomacy, Peter Szijjarto, in an interview for the French station LCI, which will be broadcast on Friday.