Following the announcement by French President Emmanuel Macron that he wanted to send military trainers to Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has once again clearly rejected the idea of sending German soldiers to the war zone. “We will continue to prevent an escalation,” he said on Saturday at an SPD election campaign event in Duisburg. This also includes the clear statement by American President Joe Biden and himself: “There will be no soldiers in Ukraine from our countries, nor from NATO.”
On Friday, after a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Paris, Macron said on the subject of military trainers: “We want to have a coalition for reasons of efficiency, and several of our partners have already given their consent.” The coming days will be used to finalize the largest possible coalition that is called upon to respond to Ukraine’s request. Macron stressed that this request is legitimate. Under certain circumstances, it is much more efficient and practical to train on Ukrainian soil.
The US government does not plan to participate in this French initiative. The communications director of the National Security Council, John Kirby, said on Friday that Biden respects Macron’s position. However, the US president has made it clear since the beginning of the war in Ukraine that he will not send American soldiers there. “That has been the case so far, and it will continue to be the case in the future,” stressed Kirby.
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Scholz stressed that the criteria for German support could be summed up under one heading: “Prudence, prudence, prudence.” It is important to support Ukraine, but to prevent an escalation of the war between Russia and NATO.