The refutation of Macron's comments comes as the Kremlin warns of conflict if the West gains a foothold in Ukraine.
Germany, Poland and NATO have ruled out sending ground troops to Ukraine as the Kremlin warned such a move would represent a significant escalation and lead to direct conflict between Russia and the Western security alliance.
Tuesday's statements came a day after French President Emmanuel Macron raised the prospect following a meeting of European leaders to bolster support for Ukraine in its war against Russia.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz said participants at the conference in Paris discussed the issue but agreed “that there will be no ground troops, no soldiers on Ukrainian soil sent there by European states or NATO states.”
Scholz said there was also consensus that “the soldiers working in our countries are not actively participating in the war themselves.”
Meanwhile, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala – two of Kiev's strongest supporters – said they too were not considering sending troops.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also told the Associated Press news agency that while members of the alliance had provided “unprecedented support” to Ukraine, there were “no plans for NATO combat troops on the ground in Ukraine.”
The idea of sending troops is taboo, especially as NATO tries to avoid being drawn into a larger war with nuclear-armed Russia. Nothing prevents NATO members from engaging individually or in groups in such an undertaking, but the organization would only engage if all 31 members agreed.
The Kremlin, meanwhile, warned that direct conflict between NATO and Russia would be inevitable if the alliance sent combat troops.
“The very discussion about the possibility of sending certain contingents from NATO countries to Ukraine is a very important new element,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, commenting on Macron’s comments.
It was “absolutely not in the interests” of the European NATO members, Peskov said. “In this case we would have to talk not about probability but about inevitability [of direct conflict].”
As Macron appeared increasingly isolated, his government subsequently sought to clarify his comments.
French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said on Tuesday that the president planned to send troops for specific tasks, such as support in demining, local weapons production and cyber defense.
“[This] might require one [military] presence on Ukrainian territory without crossing the threshold into fighting,” Sejourne told French lawmakers.
“It is not about sending troops to wage war against Russia,” said the minister.
The Paris conference came shortly after France, Germany and the United Kingdom each signed 10-year bilateral security agreements with Ukraine as the government works to bolster Western support.