Brief interview with Press TV, Iran on Macron’s proposal to send European troops to Ukraine

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International developments foreboding an escalation of localized wars into regional conflagrations (Israel-Hamas) and regional conflagrations into world wars (Russia and NATO over Ukraine) have been coming at a fast pace in recent days. Accordingly, I and my peers among political analysts find ourselves in considerable demand. I say that in a matter of fact way, not as a point of pride, for I would much prefer if there were less for us all to worry about.

Be that as it may, I was invited by Press TV yesterday evening to say a few words about Emmanuel Macron’s rather foolish proposal that Europeans send in ground forces to support Kiev in its war with Russia. Macron was immediately cold shouldered by his European colleagues, who, it would seem, are finally acknowledging that Russia is a very powerful neighbor possessing weapons against which there is no defense.

See http://www.urmedium.net/c/presstv/128709

Transcript below by a reader

Interviewer 0:00
Now in other news, Russia warning the West against sending troops to Ukraine, saying that such a move would not be in the interests of Western states. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says the fact that a possibility of sending some NATO contingents is being discussed is a pretty important new element. He warned that conflict between Russia and US-led NATO would be inevitable if European members of NATO send ground troops to Ukraine. The comments came after French President Emmanuel Macron said that the option of European nations sending troops to Ukraine is on the table. Now those remarks have been dismissed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

0:41
From Brussels, let’s bring in Gilbert Daktorow, independent international affairs analyst. Good to have you with us, Gilbert. So is President Macron serious? Of course, Germany thinks otherwise. So are the Europeans adamant to send in troops to Ukraine really to fight on the ground? And in that case, what do you expect to happen next?

Doctorow: 1:01
I think President Macron is serious … about being an important person on the European level. Unfortunately, others don’t share that opinion. He’s a shallow personality, and what he has just said was instantly rejected by most of his colleagues. And that begins with the Poles and with the Brits, both of which had been among the most aggressive countries in pushing European assistance to Ukraine. They found Mr. Macron’s proposal a step too far. And why it’s a step too far, I hope we can discuss.

Interviewer:
And Gilbert, Macron was also talking about– a few months ago, he was talking about– he had this idea of forming a European kind of NATO military alliance. So in all, given the circumstances and what’s been going on in the Russia-Ukraine war, how does the future unfold?

Doctorow 2:03
Well, Macron has been busy brainstorming and putting out various proposals to Europe. First, a few months ago, he was proposing an olive branch to the Russians, against the wishes of all of his colleagues. And now he’s proposing that they go to war with Russia, against the wishes of all of his colleagues. The only commonality here in this flip-flop is Mr Macron’s interest in bringing attention to himself and getting the newspaper reporters to give him the microphone.

2:35
The reality is what Mr. Scholz said last week, that he was against the delivery of long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine. And he reiterated that. And today’s statement by Scholz– that the idea of sending ground troops would not fly, would not be accepted by Germany or others– that is, that comes down to one fact: that the European leaders, many of them key leaders, have understood that Russia’s threats to deliver attacks on NATO countries that it believes are co-belligerents– and sending troops to Ukraine would make them co-belligerents– that these threats by Russia are not a bluff, but they are backed up by military equipment, by missiles, which Europe cannot defend itself against.

Interviewer: 3:40
Okay, I appreciate that. Gilbert Doktorow, independent international affairs analyst in Brussels.

Translation below into German (Andreas Mylaeus)

Kurzinterview mit Press TV, Iran zu Macrons Vorschlag, europäische Truppen in die Ukraine zu entsenden

Die internationalen Entwicklungen, die eine Eskalation von lokalen Kriegen zu regionalen Konflikten (Israel-Hamas) und von regionalen Konflikten zu Weltkriegen (Russland und die NATO wegen der Ukraine) erwarten lassen, haben sich in den letzten Tagen überschlagen. Dementsprechend sind ich und meine Kollegen unter den politischen Analysten sehr gefragt. Ich sage das ganz sachlich und nicht aus Stolz, denn ich würde es viel lieber sehen, wenn wir uns alle weniger Sorgen machen müssten.

Wie dem auch sei, ich wurde gestern Abend von Press TV eingeladen, um ein paar Worte über Emmanuel Macrons ziemlich törichten Vorschlag zu sagen, dass die Europäer Bodentruppen entsenden sollten, um Kiew in seinem Krieg mit Russland zu unterstützen. Macron wurde sofort von seinen europäischen Kollegen die kalte Schulter gezeigt, die, wie es scheint, endlich anerkennen, dass Russland ein sehr mächtiger Nachbar ist, der über Waffen verfügt, gegen die es keine Verteidigung gibt.

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Published by gilbertdoctorow

Gilbert Doctorow's latest book, "War Diaries. The Russia-Ukraine War, 2022-2023" is a unique contribution to literature on the war thanks to the author's reports on the Russian home front written during his periodic visits to St Petersburg at a time when Russia no longer issued visas and nearly all Western journalists had left the country. Doctorow's two-volume "Memoirs of a Russianist" published in 2020 also constitutes a category of its own, consisting largely of diary entries rather than reminiscences written decades later.. Volume 2 focuses on the community of 50,000 expatriate managers working and living in Moscow during the 1990s, about which none of his peers has yet to write. Gilbert Doctorow is a professional Russia watcher and actor in Russian affairs going back to 1965. He is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College (1967), a past Fulbright scholar, and holder of a Ph.D. with honors in history from Columbia University (1975). After completing his studies, Mr. Doctorow pursued a business career focused on the USSR and Eastern Europe. For twenty-five years he worked for US and European multinationals in marketing and general management with regional responsibility. From 1998-2002, Doctorow served as the Chairman of the Russian Booker Literary Prize in Moscow. During the 2010-2011 academic year, he was a Visiting scholar of the Harriman Institute, Columbia University. Mr. Doctorow is a long-time resident of Brussels.

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One thought on “Brief interview with Press TV, Iran on Macron’s proposal to send European troops to Ukraine”

  1. Well said and how less have we learned from history. More and more I start to realize that mankind is not such wise species. Yes, we are smart, we can make rockets which land on moon and yes we can make nanosmall chips and such. But it seems we are still lead by instinct, we are no better than any other animal.

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