Emmanuel Macron points to Romania and Moldova and asks, again, that NATO consider sending troops to Ukraine

In a statement for “The Economist” publication, reported on Thursday by the international press, the French president reiterated the prospect of sending NATO troops to the country invaded by Moscow’s troops.

He pointed out that such a decision should be questioned if Russia succeeds in breaking through the front line in Ukraine and if the authorities in Kiev ask for the help of the military alliance.

Macron emphasized that, in the event of Russia’s success on the front, there are no guarantees that neighboring countries, including Romania and the Republic of Moldova, will not suffer the fate of Ukraine.

Macron: “If we exclude from the start the sending of troops to Ukraine, it means that we have not learned from the lessons of the last two years”

“If the Russians manage to break through the front line, if there was a Ukrainian demand – which is not the case today – we should legitimately ask ourselves the question (…) To exclude this “a priori” means not to learn from the lessons of the last two years,” said the French president.

He recalled that, at the beginning of the war in Ukraine, NATO countries initially ruled out sending tanks and planes to Ukraine, but eventually many of them changed their minds.

It is the second time that the French head of state brings back to the public debate the topic of a NATO intervention in Ukraine.

Macron: What security will there be for countries like Romania and Moldova if Russia wins?

At the end of February, Macron caused a stir in NATO, saying that sending Western troops to Ukrainian soil “should not be ruled out” in the future.

Most European countries, as well as the United States, publicly distanced themselves from his remarks.

Speaking to The Economist, the Elysee leader maintained his position.

“Like I said, I’m not ruling anything out, because we’re dealing with someone who doesn’t rule anything out. We were probably too hesitant to express the limits of our action to someone who has no limits and who is the aggressor,” he said, in a non-nominal reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I have a clear strategic objective: Russia cannot win in Ukraine. If Russia wins in Ukraine, we will no longer have security in Europe.

Who can say that Russia will stop there? What security will there be for other neighboring countries, for the Republic of Moldova, Romania, Poland, Lithuania and many others? And, basically, what credibility will the Europeans have left who have spent billions, who have declared that the survival of the continent is at stake there and who have not provided the means to stop Russia?

So we don’t have to rule anything out,” concluded Emmanuel Macron.