NATO snubs Parisian dreams of Western troops in Ukraine Macron's battlefield mirage

On February 26, French President Emmanuel Macron said that Western troops could be sent to Ukraine. However, almost immediately afterwards, the possibility of sending Western soldiers was denied by the US, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Sweden, the UK, Lithuania, Germany and Canada. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani did not come round to Macron's statement either and expressed no support other than, as they say, objections. And NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg directly stated that NATO has no such plans.

In general, everyone distanced themselves and expressed disagreement. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz went the furthest, stating directly, and I quote: "There will be no ground troops on Ukrainian soil, no soldiers sent there by European states or NATO countries." However, on February 27, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal followed Macron's lead and said that he was considering a scenario in which troops would be deployed at some point in the future because, in his opinion, France could be the next country in Russia's path after Ukraine.

However, the French military department, in turn, explained that Macron's words were absolutely not an attempt to start a war against Russia. Immediately after that, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejournet, in solidarity with Gabriel Attal, said that the country's leadership allows the presence of Western military in Ukraine to provide some types of assistance, but without their direct participation in the conflict with Russia.

All in all, it looks like an absurd game in which the head of state tries to drag France into a full-blown war by almost using nuclear weapons, the prime minister supports his immediate superior, the cabinets of the neighbouring countries are extremely dissatisfied, and the foreign minister tries to soften the prime minister's statement so as not to contradict the words of the head of state, who is also his immediate superior. Here we can recall the wonderful phrase of Clinton, the former president of the United States, who when asked "Did he ever use marijuana?" evasively replied: "I did, but I didn't inhale". Kafka and Beckett will be jealous in the afterlife because they could not have come up with such a plot twist. The recklessness and irresponsibility, if not outright stupidity, of the French president is obvious.

One German expert put it very correctly, noting that "Macron's idea about the need to maintain 'strategic uncertainty' to keep Moscow in suspense is absolutely correct. But such things cannot come out of the blue, they have to be convincing. The conviction comes with consistent and extreme military support for Ukraine, something France has not done in the last two years."  

Well, probably, if Macron had been taken seriously, he would have had a chance to organise World War 3, but as it was, political observers considered his statements as another attempt to score political points within the Western bloc. It is also possible that it was a reaction of the French president to the growing pressure of the allies to send more military aid to Ukraine. In either case, it would be worth recognising that the attempt was extremely clumsy and, to put it bluntly, unsuccessful; Macron put not only himself but also his country in a rather ridiculous position because a swing without a follow-up blow can only instil a sense of impunity in the enemy.

One cannot stop the enemies with words that are not backed up by deeds; one cannot make oneself and one's country look ridiculous by shouting; one cannot be seen as a real power, however powerful one may be. It takes years to build a reputation, but it takes seconds to lose it. However, the rise to the highest positions of such irresponsible people as Macron in the leading countries of Europe demonstrates that the situation in the Old World is truly deplorable.

And to be quite frank, this "he didn't mean it" rant is further proof that the collective West does not need Ukraine's victory and territorial integrity. Anti-Russian sanctions for its aggression against Ukraine are imposed only to the extent that they do not harm the West itself (according to data for 2023, for example, Latvia exported whisky worth more than 65 million euros to Russia), so the war is not an obstacle to trade, business continues. After all, if the West really wanted to help Ukraine, it would simply "close the sky" over the country and the war would be stopped at once. Because half a friend is always half a foe. France is the best example of that.