French President Emmanuel Macron has postponed a long-planned visit to Kyiv due to strained relations with allies, which have been exacerbated by his statement that he would not reject the sending of Western troops to Ukraine.
Macron's bellicose remarks, which said last week that Europe should not be "cowardly" in the face of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, have clearly angered most of France's NATO allies, who have been quick to assure him that there are no plans to send troops to Ukraine.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said today that allies should be consulted on such issues.
Macron's visit was planned for February but was later postponed to mid-March. In a statement issued on Sunday, the French Presidential Palace said the visit would take place in the "next few weeks".
According to Politico, citing an unnamed French diplomat, instead of rushing to Kyiv, Macron now wants to take time to negotiate with allies in order to visit Ukraine "with tangible results."
Background. Earlier, the media reported that Macron was ready to send the army to Ukraine if the frontline breaks through to Odesa or Kyiv.