Russian Diplomat Criticizes President Macron's Comments On Sending Peace Forces To Ukraine

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova. (Twitter/@mfa_russia)

JAKARTA - French President Emmanuel Macron's comments about sending NATO's "peacekeeping force" (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) to Ukraine regardless of Russia's position not only show a complete discrepancy with reality, but also increase the risk of direct clashes between Russian and NATO forces, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

That was conveyed by Zakharova in response to President Macron's statement on March 15 which said Ukraine was a sovereign country, and if the country decided to invite allied forces to its territory, Russia had no right to reject it.

"He interpreted warnings from the Russian leadership about the inacceptability of the presence of the Western contingent in Ukraine as evidence of Moscow's alleged defamation in achieving peace and even calling Russia an 'existent strategic threat,'" Zakharova said, launching TASS March 21.

"People get the impression that in his desire not to be fulfilled to win or cause some kind of strategic defeat to us through the hands of Ukraine, French leaders have long lost contact with reality and do not understand at all not only aspects and details of the situation, but in general what is happening in the world," Zakharova continued.

"We have repeatedly said the introduction of so-called peacekeeping forces to Ukraine in practice would mean foreign military interventions that further escalate the conflict. This could significantly increase the risk of direct clashes between the North Atlantic Alliance and the Russian Federation," he explained.

Regarding President Macron's claim that Russia does not have the right to take positions related to the ability of foreign forces to be actively involved in conflict in Ukraine, Zakharova said, "As a sovereign country and as a country that has repeatedly suffered from Western barbarity, we have rights and will decide for ourselves how to guarantee our own security, especially if collective security issues are not only unresolved on the European continent, but also at the expense of people like Macron and his predecessors as well as other unfriendly regimes so that the matter is slumped."

Earlier, President Macron in an interview said the deployment of peacekeepers in Ukraine, as proposed by Britain and France as part of a ceasefire agreement with Russia, was a matter that Kyiv and not Moscow had to decide.

President Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are known to have rushed to consolidate military support for Ukraine, while US President Donald Trump urged a peace agreement with Russia.

"Ukraine is sovereign. If you ask allied forces to be on its territory, it's not something Russia can accept or doesn't," Macron said in a joint interview with several French regional newspapers.

Russia itself is known to have repeatedly rejected the idea of soldiers from countries that are members of the NATO alliance being placed in Ukraine.

President Macron said any peacekeeping force would consist of "a few thousand soldiers per country" to be stationed in key locations, adding a number of European countries and non-Europeans were interested in participating.

However, like other aspects of a potential ceasefire, the form of peacekeeping forces is still uncertain.