French President Emmanuel Macron said that he hopes with all his heart that French troops will not have to fight in Ukraine, but does not rule out military intervention if Russia goes too far.
He said this on Twitter (X), answering questions from Internet users, Le Figaro reports.
The president was asked whether the French would have to go to war, and he gave a lengthy explanation, Le Figaro writes.
"Ukraine has been attacked by Russia, and at some point we must be able to dissuade Russia from advancing further. In Ukraine, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of this country is at stake. But the rule of law, our common rules are also at stake. And if we allow this to happen in Ukraine, it is the law of the stronger. And we cannot be safe, this is happening 1500 kilometres away," Macron said.
According to him, the security of France depends on the situation in Ukraine.
"So we must supply more equipment to the Ukrainians, but we must also say now that if the Russians go too far, all of us Europeans must be ready to act to convince them (the occupiers – ed.) to stop," the French president said.
"So no, I hope with all my might that we will not have to fight. No, France is not a military state, but a peaceful one. But yes, if we want peace, we must defend it. That's why we have to arm ourselves, and that's why we have to be a deterrent and sometimes inspire confidence in our adversaries by telling them: "If you go too far and threaten our interests, my own security, I will not rule out intervention," Emmanuel Macron stressed.
Est-ce que nous allons partir en guerre ?
– Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) May 11, 2024
Il s'agit seulement de dire :
Si vous allez trop loin et que vous menacez les intérêts de la France et la sécurité de l’Europe, alors nous n’excluons rien. pic.twitter.com/OiRzczr1Lh
Background. The day before, it became known that the French authorities had come up with a new way to help Ukraine – as part of the Butterfly Pupa programme, the French plan to give Kyiv long-range Scalp missiles that were assembled from expired components or simply expired.