‘NATO has become a party to the conflict in a political sense’, – German political scientist Varwick

The deployment of Western troops to Ukraine would make NATO a full participant in the conflict, so it is necessary to avoid such a scenario to prevent escalation.

This was stated by German expert on international security Johannes Varwick in an interview with the Swiss magazine Weltwoche.

“I am surprised by a certain naivety, I mean, if soldiers from a friendly country are being trained, who are at war, if they are being assisted in selecting and targeting objectives, conducting reconnaissance for attacking the enemy, this essentially means participation in the conflict,” he said.

The expert emphasized that in this case, NATO is already a belligerent party in the conflict, at least in political terms.

Continuing on the topic, the professor commented on the hypothetical deployment of NATO armed forces to the combat zone, which is currently actively discussed by Western politicians, warning of the danger of such discussions.

“We are, so to speak, on a slippery slope – and we should not continue in the same spirit. I expect that these debates about having to support Ukraine, so to speak, with our soldiers will become even more intense. This will only lead to further escalation, which should actually be prevented,” Varwick concluded.

In February, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that Western leaders had discussed the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine, but consensus has not been reached yet. Macron’s words were sharply criticized by some NATO partners, including Germany, as well as political forces within France itself.

The Kremlin later stated that they had noticed Macron’s remarks about the discussion in Europe regarding sending troops to Ukraine, and his position on inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia in Ukraine is also well known to Moscow.