From Prague, Emmanuel Macron, castigating "the spirit of defeat", called on Tuesday Ukraine's allies to "not be cowardly", by "taking responsibility" for his comments on a possible sending of Western troops on the ground in the face of a “Unstoppable” Russia.
The warning was not appreciated by Berlin.
Nor was it by Washington.
Asked about comments made by the French president, John Kirby, the American spokesperson for the National Security Council, replied: “This is not what President Zelensky is asking for.
It requires tools and capabilities.
He never asked for foreign troops to fight for his country.”
And to affirm: “There will be no American troops engaged on the ground in Ukraine.
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Emmanuel Macron calls on Ukraine's allies “not to be cowardly”
On the question of sending troops, a large majority of Western countries had already made it known that they were absolutely not considering such a scenario.
NATO has “no plans” to send combat troops to Ukraine, an Alliance official commented at the time.
“We do not need (…) discussions about having more or less courage,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius reacted on Tuesday.
“It doesn't really help solve the problems” of Ukraine.
The French president assured that Berlin was not particularly targeted, already after a series of recent tensions on the Ukrainian issue.
“It targets everyone,” he said.