The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, has ruled out sending troops to Ukraine "tomorrow." However, he stated that Paris is considering the possibility of providing security guarantees to Kyiv after a potential ceasefire agreement with Russia, as reported by Tengrinews.kz.
According to France 24, he made these comments while responding to questions from French social media users.
"I have not made a decision about sending troops to Ukraine tomorrow, no. Instead, we are considering the possibility of deploying forces to ensure peace once it is agreed upon," he said.
He expressed his intention to tell U.S. President Donald Trump that one cannot show weakness in front of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
"I will tell him: 'You cannot be weak in front of President Putin. That is not in your character, it is not your calling card, it is not in your interest,'" the head of state explained.
Earlier, the White House announced that Trump will meet with Macron in Washington on Monday, and next Thursday he will hold talks with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Macron stated that France needs to bolster its security in light of the significant shift in U.S. policy towards Russia.
"I am convinced that we are entering a new era. This will require us to make decisions," he noted. "We, Europeans, must increase our military efforts."
Je réponds en direct à vos questions sur l'Ukraine et la sécurité de l'Europe. https://t.co/kK7lsNWDQg
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) February 20, 2025
It is worth noting that after an informal summit in Paris, the French president stated that most European countries and Canada will continue to support Ukraine despite the change in U.S. policy. This is the second emergency summit regarding Ukraine and European security held in Paris within a week.
For details on how the first summit on February 17 went, read the report. The event was a response to a phone conversation between Trump and Putin last week, during which both leaders agreed to initiate negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
