Macron received around twenty European leaders in Paris and announced the creation of a coalition to supply “medium and long-range missiles and bombs” to Ukraine.
“We are convinced that the defeat of Russia is essential for security and stability in Europe,” said the French president, who warned that the positions of Moscow They were “strengthening” on the front and internally.
The Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, denied that this issue had been discussed, but his Slovak counterpart, Robert Fico, pointed out that some members of the NATO and the European Union They were weighing the initiative.
France leaves the door open to send troops to Ukraine
Macron acknowledged that there is no consensus on sending troops, but added that “nothing should be ruled out”. “We will do everything necessary to ensure that Russia does not win this war,” he declared.
“Many people who today say ‘never ever’ are those who said ‘never tanks, never planes, never long-range missiles’ two years ago” when the invasion beganMacron said.
Where there was “broad consensus” is on the need to “do more and faster” to help Ukraine, which incessantly demands rapid shipments of ammunition to contain the Russian onslaught.
kyiv’s victory or defeat “depends on you”the Ukrainian president had told them on Sunday, Volodymyr Zelensky, who participated in the meeting by videoconference.
Russia warns about sending Western troops to Ukraine
The head of the Russian delegation to the negotiations in Vienna on military security and arms control, Konstantin Gavrilov, warned that A possible sending of military personnel by Western countries to Ukraine will increase the risk of a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia.
“The consequences of the growing risk of the conflict turning into a direct clash between the NATO and Russia can be the most unpredictable,” he said. Gavrilov, in statements to the Russian news agency Sputnik.
The head of the Russian delegation in Vienna also assessed it as unlikely that “European taxpayers, with whose pockets the elites of the EU and NATO countries finance the armed confrontation in Ukraine, would like to transfer a conflict to Europe”and remarked: “Our country doesn’t want this either.”
In that sense, Gavrilov recalled that Russia warned NATO countries on numerous occasions about the “danger” of their direct participation in hostilities against the Russian Armed Forces.
The Russian diplomat also indicated that his country never cut off the channels of dialogue with the Atlantic Alliance, and assured that Moscow “remains open to building a fair European security system based on equality“, mutual respect and the principle of indivisible security, where no State or association of States claims military superiority.”
From February 24, 2022, Russia continues a special military operation in Ukraine whose objectives, according to President Vladimir Putin, are to protect the population from “genocide by the regime of kyiv” and address the national security risks posed by NATO’s advance eastward.
Source: Ambito
