NATO, EU countries won’t send ground troops to Ukraine: German chancellor

By Anadolu staff

BERLIN (AA) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Tuesday that Western countries will not send any ground troops to Ukraine, turning down French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent suggestion.

“What was agreed with each other from the beginning also applies to the future, namely that there will be no ground troops on Ukrainian soil that will be sent there by European states, or NATO states,” Scholz told reporters during a visit to the southwestern city of Freiburg.

His comments came only a day after French President Emmanuel Macron had suggested sending Western ground troops to Ukraine, in order to support Ukrainians in defending their country against Russia.

"There is no consensus today that ground troops should be deployed in an official way ... but nothing should be ruled out," Macron told a news conference in Paris, after hosting Western leaders for a conference to discuss military support to Ukraine.

"We will do whatever it takes to ensure that Russia cannot win this war,” Macron said.