Former US Ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder believes that today the issue of assistance to Ukraine is very serious and important and the West must consider all options, including those that were previously excluded. But this needs to be done quietly, behind closed doors.
French Chief of General Staff General Thierry Burckhardt addressed a letter to his NATO counterparts in which he suggested exploring the possibility of creating a coalition of those willing to undertake certain tasks in Ukraine. Ivo Daalder, former U.S. Ambassador to NATO and current Executive Director of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, writes about this in an op-ed for Politico.
According to General Burkhardt, these tasks include commissioning defense systems, training armed forces directly in Ukraine, cyber operations and assistance in demining.
Considering such an action by the current general of the French army, Daalder is confident that not a single military leader would send such a document without the permission of the highest political leadership of the country.
According to his information, the Alliance allies who received such a proposal answered categorically “no”.
“But Paris did not seem to listen to this rejection, or perhaps even care, when Macron openly raised this possibility. Even despite the clear response from his allies, which was confirmed by the leaders who gathered in Paris before the press conference “, Daalder writes.
Therefore, according to the analyst, the reaction was rapid and completely predictable; NATO leaders have publicly condemned the idea of sending European or Alliance troops to Ukraine.
“U.S. President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg and others have said this will not happen,” he lists the leaders of Ukraine’s key supporters.
Daalder said their position was clear: The United States and other NATO leaders had refused to send troops to Ukraine from the beginning of the war, even before Russia launched a full-scale invasion.
“The policy was always clear: ‘yes’ to doing anything to help Ukraine defend itself; ‘no’ to any direct military intervention,” explains the former US ambassador.
Why did Macron make rhetorical remarks?
According to the analyst, one reason why French President Emmanuel Macron is speaking openly about military intervention in the Russia-Ukraine war may be to finally respond to growing pressure from allies to send more military aid to Ukraine.
“Ukraine’s military support for France is actually quite small – at least compared to Germany. Currently, France has allocated around 6.8 billion euros (including 3 billion euros promised for 2024), while Germany has provided 17.7 billion euros.” “We have received direct military aid in the last two years,” says Daalder.
While Paris claims its military contribution is greater (including, for example, long-range missiles that Berlin refuses to supply), overall its efforts are seriously inadequate.
The former ambassador said Macron had done little to dispel the perception that he was hurt by German criticism.
“Most of those who said “never, never” today were the same people who said “never, never tanks”, “never, never aircraft”, “never, never long-range missiles”, and this was two years ago,” Macron said. said. It makes a clear reference to Germany.
But the analyst notes that in most cases, the French president’s statements are perceived as little more than window dressing, as are his trips to Moscow and his frequent appeals to Russian President Vladimir Putin in a futile attempt to prevent and then stop the Russian invasion.
“This is because such attempts were nothing more than futile attempts to pose as leaders, as French presidents did. Charles de Gaulle, for example, made a career out of it by taking France out of NATO military command (excellent information) If Europe was attacked, the US (He said that the United States would still have to defend the country.) He then also deployed nuclear forces to deter threats “in all azimuths,” as if Britain and America were as big a threat as France and the Soviet Union. Daalder emphasizes:
The analyst also believes that the issue of aid to Ukraine today is serious and important, especially given what is happening in the US Congress.
Its CEO says: “And to respond to this, the West must consider all options, including those previously excluded. But this must be done quietly, behind closed doors. Dropping rhetorical bombshells shows a lack of seriousness and undermines the case.” Chicago Council.
Source: Focus
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