Ukraine's foreign minister on Macron's statement about Western troops in Ukraine: France was the first to recognise the obvious
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba believes that French President Emmanuel Macron's statement has triggered a discussion that will "save Europe a lot of time" in realising that it has to do more to support Ukraine.
Source: Delfi, a news website in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, citing Kuleba in an interview with Lithuanian news agency Elta, as reported by European Pravda
Details: Kuleba stated that if EU or NATO allies have discussed the possibility of deploying Western troops in Ukraine before, Ukraine was not aware of this.
"Do we have the impression that Paris is the first European capital to publicly acknowledge the obvious? Yes, I think so. Do other capitals feel concerned and uncomfortable with this statement of fact? Yes, this is obvious as well. However, the discussion that this statement from Paris has triggered will save Europe a lot of time in realising that it has to do more," the Ukrainian minister said.
Kuleba stressed that helping Ukraine "is not charity", but protection of the lives of European citizens and saving of funds that would otherwise have to be spent on their own defence.
"This statement by Macron is what everyone understands but is afraid to say. He is simply the first to speak openly about what I believe every reasonable person in Europe should understand. If Russia is not stopped in Ukraine, there will be a war in Europe," Kuleba added.
Background:
- Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron noted that a possible deployment of Western troops to Ukraine "cannot be ruled out". He later added that his words, which have caused an uproar, had been carefully thought through.
- Macron recently reiterated his statement that "we cannot rule out" the possibility of deployment of Western troops in Ukraine.
- In addition, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski believes that the presence of Western troops in Ukraine "is not something unthinkable".
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