The Russian government recently warned the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) against sending troops into Ukraine amid talks of doing so.
Russia said “a direct military conflict between NATO and Russia will be inevitable” if troops from the West engage in the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine.
Following Russia’s warning, NATO Secretary General Jons Stoltenberg denied that the organization was contemplating sending troops to fight alongside Ukraine.
While speaking to the Associated Press (AP), Stoltenberg said, “NATO allies are providing unprecedented support to Ukraine. We have done that since 2014 and stepped up after the full-scale invasion. But there are no plans for NATO combat troops on the ground in Ukraine.”
Discussions surrounding the potential deployment of Western soldiers came after French President Emmanuel Macron called an emergency meeting among NATO countries.
London Telegraph Claims NATO Preparing To Send Troops To Ukraine To Fight Russia pic.twitter.com/9hvnXDTtgA
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) February 27, 2024
Macron recently said that sending Western troops to Ukraine “could not be ruled out,” adding, “We must do whatever we can to obtain our objective.”
While noting that there was a lack of consensus among NATO officials to engage in the Russia-Ukraine war, Macron compared the alliance’s reluctance to the many other “red lines” that the organization has crossed in the past two years from its decision to provide Ukraine “sleeping bags and helmets” to send battle tanks and cruise missiles to the war-torn European country.
“Nothing should be excluded,” the French president said. “We will do everything that we can to make sure that Russia does not prevail.”
Countries like the Czech Republic, as an example, have opposed calls to send NATO troops, with the nation’s prime minister, Petr Fiala, recently saying, “[We are] certainly not preparing to send any soldiers to Ukraine, nobody has to worry about that.”
Sweden, which isn’t a member of NATO but will soon join the alliance, also dismissed calls to send soldiers into Ukraine.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Macron’s views were biased for his country, adding that NATO doesn’t have to follow France’s suggestions.
“There are not any requests from Ukraine’s side either for that. That question is not relevant …” Kristersson said. “There is no discussion like that ongoing in Sweden. We are participating by sending resources, materials and money to Ukraine and that is appreciated very much.”
