Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has echoed French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent comments, claiming that NATO leaders should not categorically rule out the possibility of sending ground troops to Ukraine.
Emmanuel Macron’s statements earlier in the week had stirred controversy among allied governments, prompting a swift response from leaders who sought to reassure the public that troop deployment was not imminent.
Kallas, however, expressed a different perspective during an interview on POLITICO’s Power Play podcast, emphasising the importance of considering all possibilities behind closed doors.
“I think it is also the signals that we are sending to Russia, that we are not ruling out different things,” Kallas said. “Because all the countries have understood that we have to do everything so that Ukraine wins and Russia loses this war.”
While many EU countries, including major players such as Germany, the UK, as well as the US, have firmly ruled out sending troops to Ukraine, Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis expressed gratitude for the debate initiated by Macron.
Landsbergis stressed that “nothing can be taken off the table, no option can be rejected out of hand.”
President Macron’s original statement came on Monday after a meeting on Ukraine in Paris that brought together over 20 European heads of state and government along with other Western officials.
Macron clarified that, while there is no current consensus to officially send troops on the ground, he believes that, in terms of dynamics, “nothing can be ruled out”.
“We will do everything needed so Russia cannot win the war,” Macron added, without providing details about which nations might be considering sending troops.
It comes as the EU Commission is now putting forth a comprehensive plan to facilitate a sustainable increase in production capacity. EU and NATO officials stress the importance of this measure, cautioning that the conflict in Ukraine is evolving into a war where production capacity holds significant significance.
In recent weeks, European defence leaders have individually sounded alarms about the potential of direct harm from the Kremlin to Europe in the coming years.
The draft text of the Commission plan underscores that “defence industrial readiness can only be achieved if member states are willing and enabled to prioritise collaborative investment, thereby reinforcing both military capabilities and the defence industrial base on which the EU and its member states can rely.”
