“The presence of NATO forces in Ukraine is not unthinkable,” Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said on Friday in Poland, adding that he appreciated Macron’s initiative, “because it is about [Russian President Vladimir] Putin being afraid, not us being afraid of Putin.”
Séjourné raised concerns about Moscow setting its sights on the Baltic countries, which used to be part of the Soviet empire but are now members of the EU and NATO.
Lithuania’s Landsbergis echoed Séjourné.
“There cannot be any ‘buts.’ We must draw red lines for Russia, not ourselves. No form of support for Ukraine can be excluded. We need to continue supporting Ukraine wherever it’s most needed,” he said.
Although Germany is by far the largest European military aid donor to Ukraine, it has come under fierce pressure for its reluctance to send Kyiv long range Taurus cruise missiles for fear of provoking Moscow. Kuleba took a subtle swipe at that reticence on Friday.
“I’m personally fed up with the … fear of escalation,” he said. “Our problem is that we still have people who think of this war in terms of the fear of escalation.”
Kuleba continued: “What kind of escalation are you afraid of? What else has to happen to Ukraine for you to understand that this fear is useless? What do you expect Putin to do? ‘Well I sent tanks but I did not send the missiles or troops, so maybe you’ll be nicer to me than to others?’ That’s not how Putin thinks, that’s not how he treats Europe.”
