French President Emmanuel Macron has said there are “no limits” to Paris’ support for Kyiv, according to a report of his comments on Thursday.
And earlier this week Macron urged Ukraine’s allies not to be “cowards” in supporting the ex-Soviet country to fight off the Russian invasion.
The French head of state held a meeting with France’s other party party leaders at the Elysee Palace to discuss the situation in Ukraine, according to Le Monde.
This week, Macron walked back on previous comments made following a meeting of European Union leaders in Paris, when he said that “nothing should be excluded” when it came to backing Ukraine against Vladimir Putin.
Macron’s comments last week were interpreted as suggesting a French intervention in the war although he said that there was “no consensus at this stage” about putting Western boots on the ground.
Following Thursday’s meeting, Fabien Roussel, national secretary of the French Communist Party, said Macron had expressed how “France’s position has changed” regarding the war, and that “there are no more red lines, there are no more limits,” the publication reported.
Le Monde reported that Macron had told French party leaders he had sketched out the scenario of an advance by Russia towards Odesa or Kyiv and that “could lead to an intervention” because he said “we should not in any way let [Moscow] do it.”
The French president’s reported comments raised concerns among other political leaders about a possible escalation of the war, according to Le Monde, with head of the far-right National Rally (RN) party, Jordan Bardella, saying: “I am very worried about Emmanuel Macron’s positions.”
“The role of France is to set red lines,” Bardella said. “As soon as we consider the hypothesis of sending French soldiers…to a nuclear power like Russia, it is irresponsible and extremely dangerous for the peace of the world.”
The head of Les Républicains, Éric Ciotti, also criticized Macron’s position as “inappropriate” and “even irresponsible.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Macron’s comments showed he was increasing the level of France’s direct involvement in this war.
“From our point of view, this in no way corresponds to the interests of the French,” Peskov said, according to Russian state news agency Tass.
France’s parliament will have a chance to vote next week on the country’s Ukraine strategy, including a bilateral security treaty signed with Kyiv last month, Agence France Presse reported.
Also on Thursday, Macron met with Moldovan President Maia Sandu, pledging France’s support for the former Soviet country as tensions increase between Chisinau and the breakaway pro-Russian region of Transnistria.
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