A conflict between Russia and NATO would be inevitable if Western troops go to Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman said Tuesday.
The Kremlin's comments come after French President Emmanuel Macron did not rule out putting boots on the ground in Ukraine as Kyiv struggles to fend off Russia's full-scale invasion.
While Macron noted that there was no consensus about troops at this stage, Ukraine has not asked allies for soldiers to fight its cause and other Western governments even scrambled Tuesday to insist troops were not set to be deployed, the mere suggestion sparked a furious response from Moscow.
“In this case, we need to talk not about the likelihood, but about the inevitability [of a conflict]. That’s how we evaluate it,” said Dmitry Peskov, Putin's press secretary.
“These countries must also evaluate and be aware of this, asking themselves whether this corresponds to their interests, as well as the interests of the citizens of their countries,” Peskov added.
Macron’s comments came at the tail end of a summit in Paris, where EU leaders gathered Monday to discuss ongoing support for Kyiv. Macron said defeating Russia is “indispensable” to Europe’s security and stability, and that EU leaders discussed the topic of Western troops in a "very free and direct" manner during the summit.
A domestic backlash quickly grew Tuesday against Macron's comments, and was followed by Western allies pushing back against the floated move to put soldiers into Ukraine.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said leaders in Paris agreed that “everyone must do more for Ukraine,” but that “one thing is clear: There will be no ground troops from European states or NATO.”
A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the U.K. has no plan for a “large-scale deployment” in Ukraine, and a Spanish government spokesperson said Madrid also disagrees with the idea of deploying European troops.
“We have to be very cautious when we talk about sending troops because we must not make people think we are at war with Russia,” Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said. “We are not at war with Russia, we are defending Ukraine.”
Macron's comments weren't completely isolated. Kęstutis Budrys, a Lithuanian presidential adviser, said Tuesday that Vilnius is considering the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine for training.
“We are talking about that possibility, and we are doing this quite openly. There are a lot of nuances about what could happen and under what conditions. Ammunition is the main instrument that is needed today and that was needed yesterday, but everything is on the table,” Lithuanian national broadcaster LRT reported Tuesday, citing Kęstutis Budrys.
But elsewhere, the repudiation of Macron's suggestion continued.
“President [Joe] Biden has been clear that the U.S. will not send troops to fight in Ukraine,” said National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson.
“It is not relevant at all at the moment. Right now, we are fully occupied with sending advanced material from Sweden to Ukraine in many different ways as many other countries do,” Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told Swedish broadcaster SVT. “That is a completely different matter.”
During a joint press conference Tuesday morning, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also said they have no plans to send troops to Ukraine.
“We will try to speed up the delivery of ammunition. We need to strengthen military production in Europe," Fiala said. "You don't have to look for new ways to help, you have to be more proactive and act faster.”
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said Budapest, which has stuck more closely with Moscow than any other EU or NATO member, is "not willing to send either weapons or soldiers to Ukraine,” adding that the country’s position on this is “clear and firm.”
It’s a no from NATO too, as the military alliance's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told the Associated Press that there are “no plans for NATO combat troops on the ground in Ukraine.”
For its part, Ukraine has made no move to ask for Western troops on its territory. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday there were “no negotiations” on the subject.
“The troops of the Western partners can appear on the territory of our country and conduct combat operations only in one case — when Ukraine becomes a member of the North Atlantic Alliance,” he said during the "Ukraine. Year 2024" forum.
The subject was first raised publicly by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who said a "restricted document" ahead of the summit had implied "that a number of NATO and EU member states were considering sending troops to Ukraine on a bilateral basis."
Fico said he believes such bilateral agreements will “enormously escalate tensions” and pose security risks, adding that “no soldier from Slovakia will go to Ukraine.”
This article has been updated.
Tom Nicholson, Pierre Emmanuel Ngendakumana, Joe Stanley-Smith and Veronika Melkozerova contributed to this report.
Via politico
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