Macron’s statements about possible sending of troops to Ukraine escalate situation - Italian Defence Minister Crozetto.

Italian Defence Minister Guido Crozetto said that Italy has a clear prohibition on direct military intervention, and French President Emmanuel Macron’s statements about the possible sending of troops to Ukraine only escalate the situation.

This is reported by RBC-Ukraine, Censor.NET reports.

Thus, commenting on the idea of sending troops to Ukraine, Crozetto noted that, unlike others, Italy has a clear ban on direct military intervention, except in cases provided for by law and the Constitution.

‘We can only envisage an armed intervention under an international mandate, for example, in pursuance of a UN resolution,’ the minister said.

Crozetto noted that the deployment of Western troops would provoke an expansion of the conflict, which would not benefit Ukrainians.

In addition, he believes that Macron's statements about the possible deployment of troops only escalate the situation.

‘I don't condemn the president of a friendly country like France, but I don't understand the purpose and benefit of these statements, which objectively escalate tensions,’ Crozetto said.

Earlier, Italian Defence Minister Guido Crozetto said that open channels for dialogue with Russia are important.

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Macron's statements on sending troops to Ukraine

At the end of February, Macron said that ‘we cannot rule out’ the possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine. He later added that his resonant words had been carefully considered.

At the same time, the French president's statements provoked a negative reaction from the governments of the allied countries, whose leaders were quick to assure that they would not send troops. Moscow reacted angrily to Macron's remarks, warning that the deployment of Western troops in Ukraine would inevitably lead to a conflict between Russia and NATO.

On 14 March, President Macron gave an interview to the French media in which he responded to Putin's ‘nuclear’ threats by stating that France also has nuclear weapons.

The French leader also said that if Russia wins this war, the credibility of Europe will be reduced to zero. Also in the context of the statement about sending troops to Ukraine, Macron noted that France is ready to invest resources to prevent Russia from winning.

In early May 2024, Macron said that if the Russians broke through the defences and Ukraine asked for help, France would consider sending in ground troops.