Discussions about sending NATO troops to Ukraine suddenly surfaced in public for the first time, with Russia warning that “a direct military conflict between NATO and Russia is inevitable” if Western forces engage.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg denied on Tuesday morning that the alliance plans to send troops to fight in Ukraine, after a 24-hour public debate among member states about the move. did. This also prompted dark threats about a response from the Russian government. Such a development.
The debate arose over an emergency meeting on Ukraine convened by French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday. Macron appears to be the most public supporter of direct NATO deployment against Russia. President Macron said yesterday that the possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine “cannot be ruled out” and that “we must do everything possible to achieve our objectives.”
Top Shot – French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a press conference after the conclusion of an international conference aimed at increasing Western support for Ukraine at the Elysée Presidential Palace in Paris, February 26, 2024. The meeting at the Elysée Palace will be an opportunity, and the French president’s office said the participants “reaffirm their unity as well as their determination to defeat Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine.” (Photo credit: GONZALO FUENTES/POOL/AFP) (Photo credit: GONZALO FUENTES/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Macron noted that there is currently no consensus in favor of war with Russia, and he parlayed that reluctance into a number of other “red lines” crossed by NATO over the past two years. Compared to everything, it was only the European countries’ concessions to Ukraine. It is preparing to provide sleeping bags and helmets in 2022, donate tanks and cruise missiles in 2023, and deliver a state-of-the-art jet fighter in 2024.
“Nothing should be ruled out. We will do everything we can to prevent Russia from gaining the upper hand,” President Macron said, adding that Russia was preparing to seize more territory not only in Ukraine but also in other countries. expressed confidence. report Times.
Small countries such as the Czech Republic, for example, have expressed conflicting views on the matter, with Prime Minister Petr Fiala saying on Monday:[We are] True, we are not preparing to send soldiers to Ukraine, but no one needs to worry about that. ”
Although not technically a NATO member yet, Sweden plans to join the alliance in the coming days, perhaps by the end of this week, distancing itself from France’s bellicose views. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Macron’s views were purely a national issue, and given that France is a purely defensive alliance, it would defer to other NATO members if they choose to engage in a foreign war. He said it was not something that would be forced.
Kristersson said: “There is no such request from the Ukrainian side either. That question is not relevant… at the moment it is not relevant at all. No such discussions are taking place in Sweden. , are participating by sending funds, which we very much appreciate.”
NATO needs three years to prepare for war with Russia, Polish security chief warnshttps://t.co/3ntThlZvgd
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) December 6, 2023
This outpouring of opinion was prompted by the argument of Robert Fico, president of NATO member Slovakia and perhaps the Allied head of state and most in favor of a negotiated end to the war in Ukraine; It is unpopular with other countries, who consider it to be unacceptably beneficial to the United States. President Vladimir Putin’s Russia.monday fico talked about The “restricted” NATO documents he saw were “chilling down my spine”.
The newspaper said the evidence suggests that “a number of NATO and EU member states are considering sending troops to Ukraine on a bilateral basis.”
Inevitably, discussions about sending NATO troops to Ukraine drew a response from Moscow. The Kremlin appeared unable to resist the threat of enormous retaliation and threatened civilization-ending nuclear war in response to Western interests in Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that it was not a matter of “possibility” but rather “inevitability” that Russia would retaliate on a large scale if Russian military forces against Western countries were to arrive in Ukraine. he said.
Peskov said Western leaders “should ask themselves whether this is in their own interests and, most importantly, whether it is in the interests of their own people.” Russian state media characterized Peskov’s remarks as a warning that “if Western troops are sent to Ukraine, a direct military conflict between NATO and Russia is inevitable.”
Nuclear threat: Russia will drop ‘entire arsenal’ on London and Washington if Ukraine doesn’t win warhttps://t.co/02eykw2ir7
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 19, 2024
Amid allegations of a possible NATO deployment to Ukraine, counter-claims by other NATO members, and threats of retaliation from Russia, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is playing his usual role as peacemaker. , claimed there were no plans to send troops to the east. “NATO allies are providing unprecedented support to Ukraine. We’ve been doing it since 2014, and we stepped it up even more after the full-scale invasion,” he said Tuesday morning. There are no plans to send troops.”
Shortly after Mr. Stoltenberg’s remarks, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz backed the NATO chief, saying that while European countries have agreed to do more for Ukraine in terms of providing arms and ammunition, soldiers are also He said he would not send him. “One thing is clear: there will be no ground forces from European countries or NATO,” he said Tuesday afternoon. it’s true. “
Stoltenberg’s comments come after weeks of frenzied speculation earlier this year by top NATO military leaders and politicians who said war with Russia was inevitable in the medium term. It reminds me of another meddling. Asked in January about the possibility of “Russian tanks” entering European capitals, as military officials had previously discussed, Stoltenberg said there was “no direct or imminent threat to NATO allies.” I can’t see it,” he said.
NATO’s purpose is to keep the Western alliance strong to deter attacks against member states, and NATO has been successful in this mission for decades, he said.
