Hear Russia’s warning after Macron acknowledged Western troops in Ukraine ‘can’t be dominated out’

French President Emmanuel Macron has come under fire for suggesting the West might deploy troops to Ukraine. But despite that backlash, the leadership isn't backing down a police source says Ukraine's allies must debate the issue. The source says.

There are all kinds of things ruled out. Two years ago, there were no longer ruled out and that France fears giving credence to the possibility that Russia can win all this. After Mr. Macron's comments, if you remember, on Monday.

And typically the French president didn't actually say he wanted to send troops to Ukraine, you only said it's being discussed with other leaders. Here's what he told reporters after Ukraine. A summit concerns the there's no consensus today.

To officially send support and to take responsibility for troops on the ground. But as things develop, nothing should be off the table. We will do everything necessary so that Russia cannot win this war. Forget you said you. While most European leaders.

Agree on board with the part about defeating Russia, but the idea of sending in their own troops, that drew backlash. Officials from a growing list of countries. You can see that in the U.K., Germany, Spain, Italy,.

Slovakia, and Poland all say they have no plans to send their forces to Ukraine. And Nieto officials tell CNN the alliance won't be deploying combat troops either. And the Kremlin has also responded.

Following Mr. Macron's comments. A spokesperson says conflict with Russia is inevitable. If the West sent troops to Ukraine. And we've just seen in the last few minutes, in fact, that the State Department has also commented on this. The State Department reiterating.

That President Biden has ruled out sending U.S. troops to fight in Ukraine in response to Macron's comments, saying sending Western troops to Ukraine cannot. Obviously, what Macron had cannot be ruled out. So we have a response now from the US State Department.

Melissa Bell joins me now for more. Melissa, I mean, it's clear, as we've just outlined, that the European leaders have been pretty swift in their response to Macron's comments. Before we talk about how they're responding individually,.

Just just frame for us what Macron said and how it's being received at home. Well, essentially what he had to announce in his press conference, and this was Isa in response to a question that was asked about whether this issue.

Had been raised and debated over the course of the conference that was held here in Paris. Yes, it had, he said, because it was time the debate began. The idea is that this should be the beginning of a debate about whether any individual countries and we've been speaking.

To illicit sources since some of that backlash that you mentioned. And what Emmanuel Macron is suggesting is not that France should encourage Germany or Poland or other countries who've now said they will not be sending troops to Ukraine to do so.

On the contrary, that individual countries should be considering whether or not they are willing to send. Perhaps not so much initially combat troops, but things like de miner's people to help with the maintenance.

Of Western equipment, border guards, for instance, to help liberate some Ukrainian troops that they can be redeployed for combat. That is the initial suggestion that was behind Emmanuel Macron's comments. And I think it's important to note.

That there have been words of support. For instance, Lithuania's foreign minister has said that it is time to consider all the options that there may be among our Western allies about what may come next. The idea is that two years into this war.

And with things stagnating as much as they are, that Western allies should be willing to consider individually whether or not they want to get further involved. And I think what the resources have been saying is that this is important.

From the point of view of sending a signal to Moscow of strategic ambiguity that nothing should be off the table in order that Moscow should not assume that what has been will continue to be an essentially, as you mentioned, Macron's.

Point is that there have been so many issues that have been on the off the table so far, things that have now been agreed to F-16's, the sending of long range missiles and the sending of troops should be among that ISA.

But the way he framed that, that line that we heard there sound like that wasn't discussed at this summit, and at least from what we've heard as well, to kind of push back, we've heard from some European leaders. Was this even discussed at all? He says it's time it's discussed.

Was it even discussed We've understood that it began to be raised during this conference. But of course, it will be a question for individual countries. For instance, France is about to begin debating in its parliament how it goes forward with this war,.

What its consequences are for France. And we understand that this may be a part of the future discussions. The suggestion was that debate began about this issue, and this should now be a debate and a consideration for individual countries, not that NATO with the European.

Union should send troops in, but that individual allies may now consider something that until now had been something of a red line. And I think the response from Moscow, the very strong response to this was that would inevitably lead to a confrontation.

Between NATO and Russia is an indication from the point of view that that message has been heard, that everything is possible and that they need to be paying attention is a very important context. There from Melissa Bell in Paris. Great to have you on. Melissa, thank you very much.

Let's get more analysis on this. I'm joined now by Renee Montagne. She's a research fellow for European Foreign Policy and security at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Welcome back to the show. You would have seen.

You would have heard there, Melissa Bell talking about this in detail, but you would have seen the European leaders being kind of very swift, very quick as well, and tough on their response themselves. Re trying to distance.

Distance themselves just to say, from Macron. What do you make, first of all, of how Macron framed it here? So for you know, unlike his usual way of talking, McCall was pretty prudent in the way he answered the question.

What had happened is that before this conference, that he had organized with about 20 heads of state and government, mainly from Europe, to look at how European countries can do more to support Ukraine in its fight for survival.

The Slovak prime minister had raised this issue of possibly sending Western troops to Ukraine. He had not talked about Western troops engaging in any kind of line combat, of course, against Russian troops. And so at the presser,.

Emmanuel Macron was asked to comment on that statement by the Slovak prime minister, and he basically said this had come up during their conversations and their discussions during that conference and that nothing could be ruled out.

And that the main message should be to send to Russia. Is that the the Europeans are going to do everything that is necessary in order to ensure that Russia doesn't win. So he was quite noncommittal because. Go ahead.

Yeah. No, no. I was going to say, I mean, that is a message that we keep. We have been hearing that there has been it does seem to be a shift, at least in tone. I mean, I don't know if you had Melissa saying that at least a police source.

Telling CNN the question of his ally sending troops to Ukraine is, quote, a debate that we must have. So clearly not backing down at all. But we've all we have heard in the last few hours, I should say, support also from some allies. Well,.

A friend of the show here, the Lithuanian foreign minister, who said I'm going to bring it up. Europe's fate is being decided on the battlefields of Ukraine. Times like these require political leadership, ambition and courage to think out of the box. The initiative.

Behind the Paris meeting yesterday is well worth considering. So not complete. I mean, some believing, like Landsbergis, this might this might be the moment to start talking about it. To be honest,.

Some aspects of this idea have been discussed among the allies for the past couple of weeks in various fora, not necessarily at the highest levels, but there have been some testing grounds to see who might be willing to do this.

And what they might be willing to do. Of course, everyone has in mind that they don't want to lead to any kind of escalation, any kind of direct combat, any kind of direct contact between Western military and Russian military. So that is front of mind.

They're also looking about at the rules of engagement. If they send in trainers, for example, to train Russian troops, which, by the way, they have been doing in Poland, they have been doing in the U.K., they have been doing in Germany. If they decide to move that training,.

Say, to the western side of Ukraine, you know, parts closer to the Polish border. Does that really change things? And how can they do it in a way that is safe and that does not escalate the situation with Russia? Very serious. People are looking at this.

They're also looking at doing, as Melissa had said, you know, any kind of support it would de-mining and other such activities.

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