As far as possible, since the start of the war in Ukraine, Europeans have tried to display a firm and united front against Russia. This was also the purpose of the international conference in support of Ukraine on Monday February 26. But following a new outing from Emmanuel Macron, they partly gave the spectacle of a divided camp when it comes to the response to adopt in the face of Vladimir Putin determined to bleed Ukraine.
Driven by a desire to lift taboos and create debate, the French president raised, for the first time, the possibility that Westerners could send soldiers to Ukraine. “There is no consensus today to send ground troops in an official, assumed and endorsed manner,” declared the Head of State. But […] nothing must be excluded, we will do everything necessary to ensure that Russia cannot win this war.” And to claim a certain “strategic ambiguity” vis-à-vis Moscow.
Alas, Emmanuel Macron’s comments have since earned him a succession of rejections from his European allies. “We are not considering sending our troops to Ukraine and we have a common position on this point” with the Czech Republic, declared Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, during a press conference with his Czech counterpart Petr Fiala . “We do not agree,” also declared the Spanish government, via its spokesperson, Pilar Alegria.
“He finds himself alone, in completely open terrain”
But it was from the German chancellor that the most knee-jerk reaction came against the one who wants to appear as Ukraine’s best friend, even though France is far behind Germany when it comes to military aid. “What was decided between us from the beginning continues to be valid for the future”, namely “that there will be no troops on the ground, no soldiers sent either by the European States or by the States of NATO on Ukrainian soil”, insisted Olaf Scholz, the day after the controversial declaration.
“Since he understood that he was not going to convince Putin, he has changed course and we have seen a gradual hardening of the French position in favor of Ukraine,” notes François Heisbourg, special advisor to the Foundation for Strategic Research. Macron believes that the time has come for a warning and the conference was a good thing, but with its exit, he finds himself alone, on completely open ground, the opposite of strategic ambiguity.”
This statement recalls another. During his trip to Israel at the end of October, the French leader proposed that the “anti-Daesh coalition could also fight against Hamas”. The idea, considered unrealistic, sparked immediate rejection.