Macron wants ‘boots on the ground' in Ukraine
Macron made the comments in Washington after a White House summit on Monday with US President Donald Trump, Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky, and several European leaders, who met to discuss possible terms for ending the conflict.
Speaking to reporters following the meeting, Macron said that Ukraine must have a 'strong army' and that Western Europe 'will need to help Ukraine with boots on the ground.' He added, 'We will need peacekeeping operations which allies of Ukraine are willing to supply.'
The French president has raised the idea several times in recent months, alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, but the proposal has not gained support from other European leaders. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has opposed the plan, according to the daily Corriere della Sera, and reportedly challenged Macron ahead of the Washington talks by noting that Russia has 1.3 million soldiers and asking, 'How many should we send to be up to the task?'
Germany, Poland, Spain, Romania, and Croatia have all also ruled out participation in a hypothetical mission. Earlier this month, the Times reported that British military chiefs had 'given up' on large-scale deployment plans, despite Starmer's public support.
Moscow has repeatedly stated that any Western troop presence in Ukraine is unacceptable. Multiple Russian officials, including National Security Council secretary Sergey Shoigu, have warned such a deployment would amount to an occupation and could trigger a third world war.
After several British officials brought up the idea again this month, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused London on Monday of being 'hell-bent on constantly upping the ante in the conflict and pushing its NATO partners to a dangerous line, beyond which a new global conflict lies.'
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