Washington is discontented with President Emmanuel Macron of France after his suggestion that preventing a Russian victory in Ukraine could require a NATO military force, a Western media report says.
The report released by Bloomberg on Wednesday said the French leader’s justification for his statement had been criticized by allies behind closed doors.
The report, quoting a senior US official, said some in Washington believe Macron might trigger a clash with Moscow.
The French leader’s move may not have been smart from the standpoint of operational security since some Western nations do already have a small number of troops in Ukraine, the report said.
But senior officials in Moscow maintain the Western presence is an open secret.
Moscow considers the conflict part of a US-led proxy war with Russia.
After hosting a pro-Kiev gathering in Paris in late February, Macron said NATO members “cannot exclude anything,” including having boots on the ground in Ukraine.
Macron’s remarks have forced NATO members to confirm their red lines on Ukraine.
Numerous Western leaders publicly ruled out sending troops after his comments. US President Joe Biden was among those to do so.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was another. He has explained his refusal to send long-range missiles to Ukraine by saying that unlike Britain and France, Germany is not ready to send its personnel to help fire the weapons.
Russia launched the “special military operation” in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, over the perceived threat of the ex-Soviet republic joining NATO.
Since then, the United States and Ukraine’s other allies have sent Kiev tens of billions of dollars’ worth of weapons, including rocket systems, drones, armored vehicles, tanks, and communication systems.
Western countries have also imposed a slew of economic sanctions on Moscow. The Kremlin has said the sanctions and the Western military assistance will only prolong the war.
