French Secretary of State for European Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot, after statements by French President Emmanuel Macron about sending troops to Ukraine, said that European countries should not exclude any options for action in the face of the invader.
Jean-Noël Barrault said this in an interview with Le JDD.
EU countries should not rule out all possibilities
He was asked whether direct confrontation with Russia, as Macron says, is a reality that should not be ignored.
Now watching
— The struggle of Ukrainians — this is our fight too. By resisting the invader, they are fighting for the safety of Europe and France, because Vladimir Putin's imperialist fantasies are clearly not limited to Ukraine. By gathering twenty-seven heads of state and government in Paris, the French President demonstrated the unity and determination of these countries to do more, better and differently to meet the needs of the Ukrainian resistance, — he said.
The French official stressed that it would be “a serious mistake” to exclude discussion of all the possibilities of European leaders, as well as “it would be shameful” succumb to the “spirit of surrender”, he added.
— Our firmness in the face of Vladimir Putin — this is a guarantee of our safety, — emphasized Jean-Noël Barrot.
Changes in French foreign policy
He recalled that such changes in French foreign policy — it is a matter of national sovereignty and the President of the Republic.
— But I would like to remind you that since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, we have acted within the framework of the European Union, in consultation with all our partners. This is unity — our strength, — added the official.
In addition, according to Barro, European security previously developed thanks to coalitions to combat terrorism, but after the start of Russian aggression against Ukraine “it acquired a completely new dimension”.
Russian cyber attacks against France
He was also asked if the French government is seeing Russian cyberattack activity against France.
— Over the past two years, France has been the target of Russian aggression in a number of areas, including information and computers. In the run-up to the European elections and the Olympic Games, these attacks may intensify. On February 12, Stéphane Sejournet (French Foreign Minister, — Ed.) revealed the existence of about 200 “sleeping” Russian sites that are ready to spread false information on a massive scale in just a few clicks. Recall that the national elections in Slovakia were destabilized by the airing of a false tape on the eve of the vote accusing one of the candidates of election manipulation. The Putin regime is toughening its position, and we are toughening our response, — he said.
French troops in Ukraine
We recall that after the meeting of the leaders of the European Union on February 26, French President Emmanuel Macron said that nothing can be ruled out regarding the sending of troops of Western states to Ukraine, although he admitted that this There is no consensus on the issue among other heads of state.
This was followed by a series of statements from Western leaders: the United States and a number of European countries have already announced that they do not intend to send their ground forces to Ukraine.
Commenting on this reaction from Western leaders, Macron later said that all his statements about the Russian-Ukrainian war and the sending of Western troops to Ukraine were carefully thought out.
