Macron's words on sending Western troops to Ukraine “thought through”

French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed that he spoke about sending Western troops to Ukraine quite deliberately, claiming that he "weighed" his words and "thought them through."

"These are rather serious topics. My every word on this issue is weighted, thought through and calculated," he told reporters during the visit to the upcoming Olympic village on the outskirts of Paris, TASS reports.

At the same time, the head of state refrained from making any "geopolitical commentary" in this regard, calling no to mix the issue of the Ukrainian conflict and the opening of the Ukrainian village.

"Sport must contribute to peace and tranquility," he added.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on February 26 that at a meeting in Paris, where representatives of about 20 Western countries discussed further support for Ukraine in the conflict with Russia, the possibility of sending Western countries’ ground troops to Ukraine was raised. He remarked that no consensus was achieved, but such a scenario could not be ruled out in the future. After the conference, representatives of most of the participating countries said that they had no intention to send troops to Ukraine and were strongly opposed to their participation in military operations against Russia. On February 27, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne explained that the presence of Western military in Ukraine might be necessary to provide some types of assistance, including demining operations and instruction of Ukrainian soldiers, but that did not imply their participation in the conflict.