Recent statements made by French President Emmanuel Macron and British Foreign Secretary David Cameron are part of an ongoing “verbal escalation” by Western officials, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday.
In an interview with The Economist this week, Macron set out two key conditions for sending French troops to Ukraine: “If the Russians were to break through the front lines” and if there was a “Ukrainian request.” The French president also outlined his “strategic objective” of making sure Russia does not win in Ukraine, arguing that such a development would threaten European security.
Meanwhile, former UK Prime Minister and current Foreign Secretary David Cameron told Reuters on Thursday that London will continue to send Kiev some $3 billion annually “for as long as it takes” and suggested that Ukraine has every right to use British weapons to strike targets deep inside Russia.
Responding to these comments, Peskov said that the statements made by Macron and Cameron represent a “very dangerous trend” that could threaten security on the continent.
“France, represented by the head of state, continues to constantly talk about the possibility of its direct involvement on the ground in the conflict around Ukraine. This is a very dangerous trend, we are watching it closely,” the Kremlin spokesman stated.
As for Cameron’s assertion that Kiev can use British weapons to attack Russia, Peskov warned that such “verbal escalation” around the Ukrainian conflict could “potentially pose a danger to European security and the entire European security architecture.”
Despite these “concerning” trends, the Kremlin spokesman insisted that Moscow will continue to carry out its special military operation in Ukraine until all of its goals are achieved.
Earlier this week, Peskov had also addressed the concerns being raised by a number of European leaders about a supposed attack from Russia once the Ukraine conflict is over. The spokesman reiterated that Moscow has no plans or interest in targeting any European nations and dismissed the accusations as “horror stories” made up to distract people from domestic problems in their own countries.
“European capitals are escalating tension in every possible way… trying to fool their population with these horror stories about terrible Russians who will never stop and continue moving forward. That’s absolutely groundless,” Peskov said, adding that the officials pushing such claims may be trying to “compensate for the loss of their image, their rating.”
Similar statements were also made by Russian President Vladimir Putin in March, when he dismissed talk of a potential Russian attack on Europe as an attempt to scare local citizens in order to “extract additional money from people.”