Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that Western leaders should not make it impossible to send ground troops to Ukraine, days after French President Emmanuel Macron stirred up the international community by hinting that it was possible, UNN reports.
Details
According to the newspaper, Macron's words "provoked a negative reaction from a number of other allied governments, whose leaders were quick to insist that no troops would be sent.
But Kallas said that the leaders should discuss all the possibilities behind closed doors, including what else can be done to help Ukraine.
I think that these are also signals that we are sending to Russia that we are not ruling out different things. Because all the countries have realized that we have to do everything to make sure that Ukraine wins and Russia loses this war
While most other EU countries have ruled out sending troops to Ukraine, including major players such as Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said on Wednesday that he was grateful for the debate initiated by Macron, adding that "nothing can be taken off the table, no option can be rejected.
Callas also said that the views of potential US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump have given European countries even more reason to increase their defense spending, which she believes they should have done long ago.
"Every country chooses its own leaders, and we have to work with the leaders that these democratic countries choose for themselves," she said. - "But we have to take note and reflect on what he said.
Regarding the war in Ukraine, Kallas also said that criticism of Germany's financial and military support for Kyiv is unfair.
"If you really look at the numbers, what they gave to Ukraine, I think it's unfair that Germany was scolded so much because they did a lot," Kallas said.
She also defended the legacy of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, despite criticism that Germany was too dependent on Russian energy during her tenure.
"She is still a great leader. I don't necessarily agree with all of her policies, but that doesn't mean she's not a great leader," Callas said.
Addendum
On February 26, at the end of a conference on Ukraine in Paris, Macron saidthat sending Western troops to Ukraine should not be ruled out.