However, in the first days of May, Macron confidently said that after his previous statements about the possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine, not only had many European capitals come to understand Paris’ position, but they had also agreed with it. One has to wonder whether Macron himself believes in what he says, given that all global news agencies are reporting fundamentally different positions of these countries?
No matter, all the more so because, continuing to speculate on this topic, Macron described the situation in such a way that if Russia wins the war with Ukraine, Europe should not hope for continental security. Therefore, the situation with the possible dispatch of troops should be seriously considered, first of all, against the background of a hypothetical breakthrough of the front line by Russian troops.
However, as he emphasized, a positive resolution of the matter can be ensured only if there is a request to this effect from the official Kyiv, which has yet to happen. At the same time, Macron criticized his European partners because of the long hesitation to determine the “boundary of permissible actions” in this direction. And then suddenly a couple of days ago, a number of media outlets, citing a former assistant to US Deputy Secretary of Defense Stephen Bryen, reported the secret arrival of French Foreign Legion soldiers in Ukraine, where they immediately deployed in Slovyansk. The troops reportedly included artillerymen and scouts who had previously served in a French infantry regiment.
The main task of the “legionnaires” was outlined as assisting the 54th Ukrainian Independent Mechanized Brigade. Admittedly, according to Bryen’s clarification, the men in the military, with a few exceptions among the officers, are not French citizens. What about Macron? How did he react? As usual.
During his conversation with Xi Jinping, the French leader said that Paris was not in a state of war with Moscow and did not aim to take steps to change the Russian regime. Same old, same old. And yet. He states one thing. Then he disavows his own statement or presents it in a different format. And when the mess starts to boil over, he steps aside altogether.
Why is this being brought up now? Simple. The Russian Ministry of Defense has announced steps being taken to conduct exercises using tactical nuclear weapons. The purpose of the exercise is to increase “the level of readiness of Russian non-strategic nuclear forces to fulfill combat missions.” At the same time, the Russian Defense Ministry stressed that the exercises would be a response to threats and “provocative statements” by a number of Western officials.
Macron’s opponents on the issue of sending troops to Ukraine will probably now be waiting for his detailed answers on this issue. But will anything sensible come out of his mouth? Most likely, his reaction will be something along the lines of “not my pig, not my farm”, as one says when one means one knows nothing, recalls nothing and has nothing to do with anything. But is this pattern of behavior new for Macron? Has he not repeatedly shown the same ambivalence and different variations of it? Remember how he vacillated between Kyiv and Moscow in 2022, voicing completely different points of view in the capitals of Ukraine and Russia. He would say one thing in Kyiv, another thing in Moscow, and on his return to Europe, something else altogether. Then he stepped aside.
Did he not do the same thing in the Middle East, when he seemingly negotiated with opposing forces in a single direction, but afterwards it turned out that he voiced opposite thoughts at meetings with his vis-a-vis? Not surprisingly, he had to step aside on this platform as well. There is even less point in talking about Macron’s African fiasco. It is all clear and unambiguous: Paris has no place on the African continent. So, Macron is unlikely to muster the courage to link Russia’s moves to conduct military exercises with the use of tactical nuclear weapons with his own actions. Although he may complain that he has once again been misunderstood, both by his partners and his opponents.
Teymur Atayev
Translated from Minval.az
