France has not ruled out sending troops to Ukraine, according to Benjamin Haddad, the French minister for European affairs.
Paris, along with other NATO allies, have trained over 100,000 Ukrainian troops since the war started and, in February, French President Emmanuel Macron said there was no consensus on deploying ground troops to Ukraine, but that "nothing was excluded."
NATO allies have been trying to provide military assistance to Ukraine, but the presence of "boots on the ground" in any form could raise fears of escalation. However, Moscow has already portrayed its invasion as a proxy war between Russia and the alliance. Newsweek has contacted the French and Russian foreign ministries and NATO for email comment.
The French newspaper Le Monde reported in May that France could send instructors to Ukraine to train its military, following a deal agreed by Kyiv's top commander, General Oleksandr Syrskyi.
As a debate rages about whether Western weapons should be allowed for strikes deep inside Russia, Haddad was asked about Paris' latest stance on military assistance for Ukraine.
"President Macron has said that we cannot rule anything out, and that still applies, in particular to training missions," Haddad told German newspaper Berliner Zeitung, according to a translation.
He was then asked whether this means that "the French position remains that the deployment of ground troops to Ukraine is not ruled out?"
"Yes," Haddad replied to the newspaper, whose article described how "sending French ground troops remains a serious option for him."
Elsewhere in the interview, Haddad said France was "convinced that Ukraine must be put in a position to defend itself" and that "the only country that has chosen to escalate since February 24, 2022 is Russia."
"Russia has chosen to close the door to diplomacy," he added. "That is why President Macron believes that we should stop setting red lines and rely on what we call strategic ambiguity."
Macron has urged for a policy shift to allow Kyiv to strike military bases inside Russia with sophisticated long-range weapons.
During an address to the United Nations last week, Macron said Russia was "waging a war of territorial conquest in Ukraine." He added that it was in "the common interest of nations, to make sure that Ukraine's legitimate rights are restored as quickly as possible, and that a just and lasting peace is built."
On Tuesday, Mark Rutte, NATO's new chief, voiced strong support for Ukraine, which he said was at the top of the list of his priorities. "We have to make sure that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign, independent, democratic nation," he added.
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