Italy publicly scolds Macron over Ukraine intervention talk — RT World News
The French President had previously set conditions for sending Western forces to help Kiev
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said on Saturday that Emmanuel Macron's statements about the possibility of sending Western forces to Ukraine only serve to escalate tensions and serve no other purpose.
His comments come after the French president said in an interview with The Economist this week that his country might consider sending its forces to help Kiev. “If the Russians can penetrate the front lines” And if there is “Ukrainian request” For such help. Macron also explained his plan “strategic goal” To ensure that Russia does not win in Ukraine, claiming that such a development would threaten European security.
Speaking to Corriere della Sera newspaper, Crosetto claimed that although he personally could not judge a president “A friendly country like France” At the same time he cannot understand “The purpose and benefit of these statements, which objectively raise tension.”
The minister also ruled out the possibility that Italy would send its forces to directly intervene in the Ukrainian conflict. He added: “Unlike others, we have in our system an explicit prohibition on direct military interventions, outside the scope of what is stipulated in the laws and the constitution.” Crosetto explained. “We can only imagine armed interventions after an international mandate, for example in implementing a UN resolution.”
He further noted that, regardless of the impossibility of sending Italian troops to Ukraine, doing so is possible “It would lead to a further escalation of the conflict, which would not be beneficial above all for the Ukrainians themselves.”
“In short, the conditions for our direct participation do not exist.” Crosetto said.
Other NATO countries, particularly Hungary and Slovakia, also rejected Macron's latest hints about direct Western intervention on the ground in Ukraine.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó condemned the French President’s statements, explaining that if she were a member of NATO He added: “If you send ground forces, it will be a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia, and after that it will be World War III.”
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico also stressed that NATO has no justification for sending troops to Ukraine because the country is not a member state and pledged to do so. “No Slovak soldier will set foot outside the Slovak-Ukrainian border.”
Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron stated that while London planned to continue supplying weapons to Ukraine, which he said Kiev had the right to use against targets in Russia, sending any NATO soldiers into the country would in effect constitute military action. 'Dangerous escalation'
Moscow has repeatedly warned the West against sending its forces to Ukraine, stressing that it will be forced to attack it if it participates directly in the conflict. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on Telegram on Friday “There will be nothing left” NATO forces if sent to the front lines in Ukraine.
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