Warsaw, 9 March 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has responded positively to French President Emmanuel Macron's recent comments that Western troops could be deployed in Ukraine.

"The presence of NATO forces in Ukraine is not unthinkable," Sikorski wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, on Friday evening, more than a week after the French leader caused a stir with his remarks at a meeting of European leaders.

"I appreciate French President Emmanuel Macron's initiative, because it is about Putin being afraid, not us being afraid of Putin," he continued.

Poland has been a staunch ally of Ukraine ever since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Sikorski's position contrasts with that of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who during a visit to Prague last week made it clear that Poland had no intention of sending troops to Ukraine. 

Tusk said that the focus should be on providing Ukraine with maximum support in its military efforts against the Russian invasion.

Macron caused a flurry of alarmed reactions when he said sending Western troops to Ukraine was not off the table.

"There is no consensus today on officially deploying ground troops," Macron told a conference of Ukraine's European allies in Paris on February 26. "But nothing can be ruled out in the dynamic. We will do everything necessary to ensure that Russia cannot win this war," he said.

His statement quickly drew negative reactions from several NATO member states. French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said later that the remarks had been "taken out of context." Macron had reaffirmed at the talks that France would not be a "co-belligerent" in the Ukraine conflict, Lecornu noted.

Photo: MIA Archive