By Athena Papakosta

The representative of the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov he was clear. In the event that NATO and European troops are sent to Ukraine then, a Russia-NATO conflict will be inevitable.

This reaction of the Kremlin was caused by the attitude of the president of France, Emmanuel Macronwho did not rule out sending Western troops to Ukraine.

Although he pointed out that “unanimity does not exist” in the camp of the West there was a disturbance. Already the possibility of sending troops to Ukrainian soil is almost universally rejected by the Europeans and its NATO allies with the Prime Minister of Sweden, Ulf Kristerson who is preparing to join the Alliance stressing that “something like that does not concern us at all at the moment”.

For his part, the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, ruled out the possibility by clarifying that “in Ukraine there will be neither ground troops, nor soldiers sent by European or NATO Member States” while, on the subject, he was also the European Commission with the representative for Foreign Policy and Security, Peter Stano, clarifying that “there is no decision, at the European level, to send soldiers or ground forces to Ukraine”.

Emmanuel Macron made this statement after the end of the work of the Summit on Ukraine in Paris with the participation of more than 20 European leaders and government officials.

As international media point out, it is the first time that such a discussion regarding whether or not to send troops to Ukraine has been held publicly – despite the fact that Macron’s stance in favor of the strategic autonomy of Europe and its gradual disengagement from the United States of America is known for five years.

The Secretary General of NATO appeared in the role of a firefighter, Jens Stoltenbergwho stressed that “NATO and the Allies are providing unprecedented military assistance to Ukraine (…) but, there is no plan for NATO combat troops on Ukrainian soil.”

At the same time, the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has not asked for troops but ammunition from the West. As, in fact, he pointed out at the forum “Ukraine. Year 2024” last Sunday, NATO and European troops will be sent to the country only if it is now a NATO Member State.

To the question “why the French president chose the given moment to bring up such a sensitive issue for the Europeans” Emmanuel Macron answered that “Russia continues the war, repeats its goals for territorial conquests and has adopted a more aggressive attitude – not only against Ukraine but also against all of us”.

However, it is worth recalling that just a few weeks ago the – according to polls – strong candidate for a return to the White House, Donald Trump had given Moscow the “green light” to attack any NATO Member State that does not fulfill its financial obligations. Since then, the debate has heated up, with some European officials pointing out that Europe should be ready to defend its territories and others pointing to the importance of the United States’ umbrella.

Nevertheless, Emmanuel Macron choosing to publicly open the issue does not look like the… winner of the case.

Most of his European counterparts supported the Czech initiative to purchase ammunition on behalf of Ukraine from third countries. For example, the Netherlands promised to contribute the amount of 100 million euros.

At the same time, the French opposition has also caught fire with the head of the far-right “National Rally” party, Marine Le Pen, saying: “has anyone understood the seriousness of such a statement?” to then accuse the French president of playing the role of a warlord while “peace” is at stake in France.

For Macron himself, however, “the defeat of Russia”, as he emphasizes, “is absolutely necessary for the security and stability of Europe”, just as the need, according to the French president, for the Old Continent to reinvent sovereignty her.