France is doing everything possible to avoid a collapse of Ukraine without waging war on Russia, the head of French diplomacy insisted on Friday, interviewed on France Inter radio.
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“Everything we do is to avoid war and obviously not to add a degree of worry to the French,” assured Stéphane Séjourné, questioned about the possibility of sending European soldiers to Ukraine mentioned at the start of the week by the president. French.
Emmanuel Macron on Monday called on Ukraine’s allies for a “start” to ensure the “defeat” of Russia, by carrying out faster and more massive deliveries of arms and ammunition.
He also broke a taboo by not excluding the sending of Western soldiers to Ukraine for support missions, while emphasizing that there was no consensus on the subject.
To dispel doubts about sending French soldiers who would fight alongside the Ukrainians against their Russian adversaries, Stéphane Séjourné recalled the framework set by the president: “prevent Russia from winning without waging war against Russia and in In this framework, nothing is excluded.
He pointed out the real risk of Ukraine’s collapse at a time when US support for Kyiv is increasingly uncertain with the possibility of a return of Republican Donald Trump.
And to highlight the serious consequences, particularly on the economic level, for Europeans.
“There would be an economic catastrophe (…) If Ukraine collapsed, 30% of the wheat market would be controlled by Russia, which would give it the possibility of attacking us on the markets,” declared Stéphane Séjourné .
The minister also raised the humanitarian issue, with the risk of a wave of refugees not seen since the Second World War: “We are talking about 10 million Ukrainians who could leave Ukraine in the event of the collapse” of their country. .
“And then we know very well and we have information (in this sense, Editor’s note), that Russia will not stop there,” he commented, in reference to the fact that Moscow could invade other country.
He also mentioned “a situation of fragility with the preparation of the European elections, with the preparation of the Olympic Games” and the information attacks from Russia.
“Russia has changed its posture,” he concluded, which justifies the unfailing support, according to him, for Ukraine.