French President Emmanuel Macron is right to call Moscow an “adversary” because Paris is already indirectly involved in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
In an interview with the TF1 and France 2 channels on Thursday, Macron insisted that France is “not waging war on Russia” by supporting Kiev, but stated that his government is doing its utmost to ensure a Ukrainian victory. He described Moscow as an “adversary” of France, but declined to brand it an “enemy.”
Responding on Friday, Peskov said Russian authorities have been following the recent rhetoric by the French leader.
“Yes, it’s obvious that Russia is an adversary of France because France is already involved in the war in Ukraine; it is indirectly taking part in this war,” Peskov told reporters.
“But, judging by the [French] president’s statement, he won’t mind increasing the degree of his involvement [in the conflict],” the Kremlin spokesman added.
Macron was asked during his interview with French TV to clarify his recent remarks about the possibility of deploying Western troops to Ukraine. The comments prompted a wave of denials from the leaders of fellow NATO member states, who insisted there are no such plans.
Macron refused to offer any specifics on Thursday, however, claiming he wants to maintain “strategic ambiguity” and that he has “reasons not to be precise.”
He insisted that France will not launch an offensive against Moscow, but added that “if the situation should deteriorate [for Ukraine], we would be ready to make sure that Russia never wins that war.”
Macron also claimed that anyone in the EU calling for “limits” on aid to Ukraine is “choosing defeat,” and that victory for Russia “would reduce Europe’s credibility to zero.”
France has provided Ukraine with €3.8 billion ($4.1 billion) worth of assistance since the conflict with Russia began in February 2022. Deliveries of lethal aid have induced Caesar self-propelled guns, SCALP long-range missiles, and other hardware.
Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed during an interview with national media on Wednesday that Moscow would treat troops from the US or other NATO countries as “interventionists” if they are deployed to Ukraine, and would respond accordingly.
Western servicemen are already present in Ukraine “both directly and in the form of advisers, they are present in the form of foreign mercenaries and are suffering losses,” the Russian leader said. The battlefield situation will not change even if this escalates to official foreign military contingents, Putin insisted.