Austrian Foreign Minister Schallenberg sees a debate “that we really don’t need”. Sending soldiers to Ukraine is also “not a problem” in Sweden, the Czech Republic and Germany. Kremlin spokesman Peskov also commented on the matter.
According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, sending troops to Ukraine “would not be in the interests” of Western countries. “This is absolutely not in the interests of these countries, they must be aware of this,” Peskov said on Tuesday in response to a statement from French President Emmanuel Macron. Several EU countries criticized Macron's statement. Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) called for a “diplomatic perspective”.
The French head of state said on Monday night that the deployment of troops “cannot be ruled out”. There is currently no consensus, Macron said at the end of an international conference on Ukraine in Paris. “But nothing must be discarded to achieve the objective.” The objective is for Russia not to win. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal underlined Macron's statements on Tuesday: “Nothing can be ruled out in a war (…) in the heart of Europe,” Attal said on radio station RTL.
The fact that the possibility of ground troops is now being discussed is a “very important new element” in the conflict, Peskov emphasized on Tuesday.
Macron's statements go “in the opposite direction” of what is currently necessary, namely a “diplomatic perspective”, criticized Schallenberg. “There was clearly no consensus on this yesterday in Paris,” he emphasized. “And it's incredible when you come up with a topic that has no consensus and with that you create a debate that we really don't need,” said the Minister of Foreign Affairs in response to a question from APA before leaving for a four-day trip to Middle East, which takes you to Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Lebanon.
Schallenberg: “There is no consensus on this in Paris”
Macron's statements go “in the opposite direction” of what is currently necessary, namely a “diplomatic perspective”, criticized Schallenberg. “There was clearly no consensus on this yesterday in Paris,” he emphasized. “And it's incredible when you come up with a topic that has no consensus and thus create a debate that we really don't need,” said the Minister of Foreign Affairs before leaving for a four-day trip to the Middle East that would take him to Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Lebanon.
Schallenberg emphasized that Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) made the Austrian position clear at Monday's summit in Paris. “We also need a political and diplomatic perspective in this conflict again. The deployment of troops is actually a signal in the opposite direction, even if it is said that this is not a matter of Article 5 of the Washington Treaty”, stated the Minister of Foreign Affairs, referring to NATO's obligation to provide assistance.
German Green Party leader: “It’s not a problem”
Macron's statements were also met with rejection from all parties in Germany. SPD Prime Minister of Lower Saxony Stephan Weil said in the NDR that he was strictly against a corresponding mandate for the Bundeswehr. Criticism also came from the CDU, the Greens, the AfD and the Left Party. FDP defense expert Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann said Germany does not need to share Macron's assessment; However, she praised the president as a “driver”, while Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) was “slower”. “It’s not a problem at all. It is not an issue under discussion in Germany or in an alliance,” said Green Party leader Omid Nouripour on Tuesday on NTV.
The prime ministers of the Czech Republic and Sweden, Petr Fiala and Ulf Kristersson, also expressed opposition to Macron's statements regarding ground troops. The Czech Republic is not considering sending troops to Ukraine, Fiala said. For Sweden, sending Western troops to Ukraine is “currently not a problem,” Kristersson said. Currently, “we are busy sending advanced equipment to Ukraine.” Kristersson said there had been no requests from the Ukrainian side for ground troops.
Concern about Trump's victory in the USA
The EU's only nuclear power, France, like several other European states, recently concluded security agreements with Ukraine. Given the blocking of US military aid by opposition Republicans and announcements by presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump that he will not help NATO partners in the event of an attack by Russia, European allies are under particular pressure. strengthen its defense capabilities against the aggressor state. As a neutral state, Austria does not participate in military aid to Ukraine. (APA/AFP)