A provocation towards Russia or its allies, to whom Macron’s words about sending troops to Ukraine were aimed?

On Monday the 26th, during a conference of European leaders in support of Ukraine held in Paris, the French president Emmanuel Macron He assured that the option of the West sending military troops to support Kiev on the ground during the war it has been fighting for two years should not be “ruled out”. Russia.

TO LOOK: Macron is left alone as he leaves the door open to sending European troops to Ukraine

“Today there is no consensus on the official, presumed and determined deployment of ground forces (to Ukraine), but nothing should be excluded. We will do everything necessary so that Russia cannot win this warMacron noted.

As expected, the French president’s statements – a far cry from the caution with which NATO has treated its messages during these two years to avoid being considered a direct actor in the conflict – generated an immediate response from the Kremlin.

“This is not in the interests of these countries and they should be careful. In the case (of sending troops), we would have to talk not about the probability, but about the inevitability (of a direct conflict between NATO and Russia)“, said Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that sending Western troops to Ukraine would lead to an inevitable war between Russia and NATO. (NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/)

But the rejection of the scenario proposed by Macron did not just come from Moscow, but from the allied ranks themselves. Both NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and representatives of the governments of Germany, Spain, Sweden, Italy, Finland, Poland, Canada, the United States, among others, ruled out the intention of sending troops to Ukrainian territory to participate directly in the war. .

On Tuesday, the French government itself clarified through its chancellor Stéphane Séjourné that a possible deployment of its troops would not transfer any “belligerence threshold” and before that they could dedicate themselves to demining actions or combating cyber attacks, in an apparent attempt to reduce the controversy caused by Macron.

“At the moment, it can be ruled out that NATO wants to get directly involved in the war between Russia and Ukraine; For this to happen, a very serious incident would have to occur. At the moment there is no political will to do so.“, ensures The trade international analyst Francesco Tucci.

But then, what would have been the true intention behind the French president’s words if the Alliance’s position has been more than evident during these months of conflict?

“A provocation, it was a provocation. The presence of French soldiers in a country at war would be extremely dangerous because they could be directly or indirectly involved in the fighting or bombings that the Russian armed forces launch daily against civilian and military targets.”, says the analyst.

According to the expert, even the French Chancellor’s statements would seek “purposefully not clarifying the role these soldiers would play”.

Tucci represses the risk that a possible direct participation of France or any other member of NATO represents for global security, due to which article 5 of the Alliance requires that any aggression against a member of the same would force the rest of countries to respond together.

However, for the analyst, Macron’s words would not have sought to resonate both in Moscow and in the ranks of his own allies.

“I see this as pressure on Germany or the United States, on the Allied governments in general. Macron’s statements are related to frustration because the Ukrainian counteroffensive did not achieve the expected objectives, but also to the blocking in the United States Congress of the 60 billion dollar military aid package. This package is essential to ensure Ukrainian resilience, the Russians are making great progress on the Donbass front“, Explain.

Since November 2023, the sending of a new military aid package to Ukraine has been blocked in the United States Congress. (INTS KALNINS/REUTERS/REFERENTIAL/)

Since November 2023, Republican Party lawmakers – who have been the majority in Congress since the midterm elections – have been tasked with blocking the Biden Administration’s proposed military aid package to be sent to Ukraine. Conservatives have assured that they will not approve his shipment until the government allocates a larger budget to security on their country’s southern border.

This also adds to the appeal of pre-candidate Donald Trump, who has criticized on more than one occasion the support provided by Washington to Kiev since the beginning of the Russian invasion.

For Tucci, this is nothing more than a reflection of what 2024 will represent for the future of war and not necessarily because of what happens in Ukraine, but outside its borders.

“A series of political decisions that will be taken this year will have a serious impact on the fate of Ukraine. An example of this is the elections in the United States, if Trump manages to win he made it clear that he will not help Ukraine militarily and that he did not plan to spend 2% of GDP on NATO.”, says the analyst.

Source: Elcomercio