Italian PM condemns Macron for idea of sending troops to Ukraine

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she personally told French President Emmanuel Macron that she disagreed with his proposal to send European troops to Ukraine, according to Report.

"I didn’t agree with what Macron said, I told him that. I don’t agree with him and I’m convinced that we should pay attention to the words we use," she said on air of the Rete4 channel.

She said that after the recent EU summit, newspaper reports began to appear that the leaders were allegedly preparing Europe for war, but they were talking about civil defense.

Following a conference on supporting Ukraine in Paris at the end of February, Macron said that Western leaders had discussed the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine. No consensus has yet been reached, "but nothing can be ruled out." During a meeting with opposition leaders in early March, Macron reiterated that France "has no limits and no red lines" on the issue of assistance to Ukraine.

Macron's statements sparked sharp criticism from a number of NATO partners, including Germany, as well as political forces in France. French party leaders accused him of dragging Paris into the conflict.