French Prime Minister explains need for foreign military presence in Ukraine
Photo: French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal (Getty Images)
France may send its military to Ukraine, in particular, to patrol the borders and train Ukrainian soldiers, according to French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.
"I am absolutely convinced that no one will be able to accept the prospect of Russia winning this war because we are behind Ukraine," Attal says.
He emphasizes that Russia has changed its position.
"Its stance has intensified in the context of this conflict, but also towards us, France and its allies, with the spread of false information to fool us, or cyber attacks," the Prime Minister says.
He warns that the reality is that Russia poses a direct and immediate threat to France at all levels.
"When we talk about French soldiers (in Ukraine - ed.), we can also talk about soldiers who are involved in training, ground air defense, or the defense of a certain number of borders," Attal says.
Speaking about sending ground troops to Ukraine, Attal recalls that at a conference on Ukraine attended by 27 EU member states, it was concluded that it was necessary to go further in terms of the possibility of supplying military equipment to Ukraine.
"In these circumstances, the President is being asked questions. He is asked whether there are prospects that he can rule out. Given everything I've just said and the change in Russia's position, can the President responsibly say that he excludes certain prospects in principle? I don't think so," he says.
Background
On February 26, a working meeting of about 20 European leaders took place in Paris. The participants discussed ways to confront Russia and possible ways to help Ukraine resist the aggressor in the context of the escalating situation at the front in recent weeks.
In particular, at the summit, French President Emmanuel Macron did not rule out the possibility that NATO would send troops to help Ukraine. The main problem, he said, is that there is no consensus on this issue yet.
In turn, French Foreign Minister Stéphane Sejourne explained what operations foreign troops could carry out in Ukraine.
However, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz opposed sending NATO or EU troops to Ukraine, and the Czech Republic and Poland also did not consider this possibility.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was also categorical, stating that there are no plans to deploy NATO combat troops in Ukraine.
