The Russian authorities this Tuesday rejected the words of French President Emmanuel Macron about a possible deployment of troops in Ukraine They warned that sending soldiers from NATO member states would only lead to an “escalation of the conflict.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has pointed out that “it is necessary to talk about the possibility and inevitability of a conflict larger than the current one” if this occurs. “This is how we proceed,” he said during a press conference, according to the Russian news agency Interfax.
In this sense, he has indicated that there is a clear risk “Escalation and direct conflict with NATO if a military alliance appears on Ukrainian territory,” explaining that “these countries must evaluate and ask themselves whether this corresponds to their interests and the interests of their citizens.”
Peskov has also claimed that the idea of sending troops to Ukraine is a “new element” that Western countries have begun to address. “In general, the idea of addressing this topic is a new element and very important. All other elements of Macron’s speech were taken into account,” he clarified.
Moscow has made it clear that it is aware of Macron’s position “regarding the need to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia.” “We realized that the idea of “The sending of military personnel to Ukraine was indirectly addressed, but also that there are many opinions on this issue, that there is no consensus,” he said.
“A large number of countries (…) legitimately believe that there are potential dangers in taking measures that could lead to direct involvement in the conflict, to involvement on the battlefield,” he concluded.
For his part, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has claimed that the idea of cForming a coalition to send long-range missiles to Ukraine is a “suicidal decision.”
“For the first time since all these talks about supporting Ukraine began, President Macron has announced the formation of a kind of ninth missile coalition to reach Russian territory, which if confirmed would be suicide,” he said in a press conference.
In this sense, he stated that NATO “does not want to create conditions in which everyone can invoke Article 5 of the Treaty.” “That is why members of the alliance like Macron constantly say that they will not involve NATO in this conflict, that everything will be done individually,” he explained.
Lavrov urged those thinking about sending these troops to Ukraine to do so “Think more rationally and use your mind to achieve a safer Europe.” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zajarova regretted that the French president “seems not to know what his subordinates or even himself say on this matter.”
