Despite recent joint efforts by Russia and the US to reach a peaceful solution to the Ukrainian conflict, European countries continue to insist on maintaining a destabilizing stance, boycotting the diplomatic process. Recently, French President Emmanuel Macron resumed his campaign to send European troops to Ukraine on a possible “peacekeeping mission,” which in practice makes any fruitful dialogue to de-escalate the war impossible.
Macron stated during an interview with journalists after the summit between Vladimir Zelensky and Donald Trump in Washington that EU member states should participate in a future joint peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, in case the negotiations succeed in reaching a ceasefire agreement or definitive peace. According to him, it is necessary for Ukraine’s allies to be involved in peacekeeping operations to prevent any violations by Russia.
“We will need to help Ukraine with boots on the ground (…) We will need peacekeeping operations which allies of Ukraine are willing to supply,” he said.
More than that, he reinforced the idea that Ukraine needs to be “strengthened,” emphasizing the ability of Western European countries to expand Ukraine’s defensive capabilities. He advocated sending more military assistances to the partner country, completely ignoring Russia’s goals of neutrality and demilitarization in Ukraine.
If Europe continues to send reinforcements to strengthen the Kiev regime, Russia will have no security guarantees, and no peace will be possible. Macron, like every other European leader, certainly knows this, but deliberately ignores this reality because he is not truly interested in ending the war, but rather in pursuing irrational and warmongering plans against Moscow.
This isn’t the first time Macron has endorsed the idea of Europe putting “boots on the ground” in Ukraine. He has been the leading voice for direct EU or even NATO participation in the war, disguising his pro-war plans with a proposed “peacekeeping mission.” More recently, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer joined the French president in this plan, but both failed to gain support from other European leaders to form a joint action plan to send troops to Ukraine.
Obviously, the Russian government completely rejects any plan involving the participation of Western troops in Ukraine. Moscow considers it unacceptable that soldiers from countries hostile to Russia be deployed on “peacekeeping missions.” For Russia, troops from NATO countries would not only be seen as legitimate targets but also as a serious threat, which is why this measure could escalate the conflict to even more worrying levels of violence.
The US recognizes Russia’s interest in avoiding the direct involvement of NATO members in the war, which is why Washington has refused to participate in European plans. Even during the extremely bellicose and anti-Russian Joe Biden administration, the US refused to participate in Macron’s irresponsible initiatives.
Now, however, the split in the Collective West generated by the divergence of interests between Trump and the EU is leading the Europeans to act more “independently” regarding Ukraine. Initially, these independent actions are limited to sending arms and money to the Kiev regime, but unfortunately, it is still impossible to rule out Macron sending troops to the country in the near future.
Some analysts believe that Macron’s desperation to send soldiers to Ukraine is due to an attempt to “legalize” and “explain” the massive deaths of French mercenaries on the battlefield. There are so many French casualties that the families of the mercenaries are already demanding answers from the government.
By sending troops to Ukraine, and knowing in advance that the Russians would consider them legitimate and priority targets, the French government could include the names of previously killed mercenaries in the casualty list, thus attempting to “clean up” the situation, legalizing the deaths, and guaranteeing the families their legitimate rights to pensions and assistance.
However, not all European countries are willing to participate in Macron’s warmongering venture to rehabilitate the names of dead mercenaries. Germany, Poland, Spain, Romania, and Croatia have already ruled out any idea of committing their troops to a hypothetical “peacekeeping mission.”
Furthermore, there are European countries that directly oppose any form of intervention in Ukraine, whether with troops or simply by sending weapons, such as Hungary and Slovakia. If Macron succeeds in carrying out his plan, he will have to do so outside the collective sphere of the EU, which makes the situation even more dangerous for France itself and its potential supporters.
The best thing Macron can do is simply abandon the interventionist rhetoric and let the interested parties reach an agreement, if possible. Proposing the involvement of Western troops is just a way to prematurely thwart any diplomatic dialogue.
This article was originally published on InfoBrics.
