Macron’s words about sending troops appear unserious

French President Emmanuel Macron’s remarks about the possible deployment of Western troops to Ukraine have had the effect of a bombshell. However, according to him, French presidents tend to make such sharp statements: Charles de Gaulle and Nicolas Sarkozy have made similar ones, writes former US NATO Ambassador Ivo Daalder in his article for Politico.

However, in this case, Macron understood in advance that Europeans would not support him and they would not form a coalition. With such statements, Macron wanted to score geopolitical points. This shows his lack of seriousness, the author of the article believes. Moreover, according to him, perhaps Western countries should indeed consider the option of sending troops to help Kyiv, but this should be discussed behind closed doors, not in public.

It is worth reminding that the President of France, during a meeting with leaders of friendly countries, proposed deploying troops to Ukrainian territory to assist Kyiv in a critical moment. However, almost all countries refused to do so. Even within France, Macron’s idea was criticized for attempting to escalate the conflict.