VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) stated that they would not send their troops to Ukraine. The statement was issued after a conference of European leaders in France last Monday (26/2/2024). Even so, French President, Emmanuel Macron still said that sending troops to Ukraine could not be ruled out to achieve NATO's goals. According to him, Russia cannot and must not win the war.

NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance had no plans to send combat troops to Ukraine. Meanwhile, the White House on Tuesday (27/2/2024) also stated that the United States would not send troops to fight in Ukraine.

German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz on Tuesday (27/2/2024) rejected the idea of sending troops to Ukraine. He emphasized that what had been agreed from the start among NATO members also applies to the future, namely there will be no troops sent by European countries or NATO to Ukraine.

Scholz also emphasized that soldiers based in NATO countries are also not allowed to actively participate in the fighting between Ukraine and Russia. This is to prevent an escalation of war involving NATO.

Swedish Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, whose country is about to join NATO, also said he had no current plans to send ground troops to Ukraine.

Poland, Britain and Spain have also publicly rejected the idea of bringing troops from NATO member countries into direct conflict against Russia.

Responding to President Emmanuel Macron's statement, the Russian government on Tuesday (27/2/2024) stated that conflict with NATO was inevitable if Western countries, members of the defence pact, sent troops to Ukraine. Russian government spokesman, Dmitry Peskov reminded at a press conference in Moscow that NATO member countries must be able to assess the consequences that may arise if they take this decision. They must realize that it is not at all in the interests of each country.

On one hand, Peskov said a number of Western countries are quite aware of the potential consequences and threats that may arise if sending troops to Ukraine is carried out.

On the other hand, NATO's Collective Defence Principle Article 5 states, if one member of the alliance is attacked in Europe or North America, it is considered an attack against all members. Thereby, they may take actions deemed necessary to assist the allies.

It has been two years since the Russia-Ukraine conflict, but there is no sign of it ending soon. It cannot be denied that since the Russian-Ukrainian conflict broke out, NATO has provided support for Ukraine, including sending weapons. But sending NATO troops to Ukraine to help deal with Russia will only make matters worse. The best way is to stop the war so that the people of both countries can return to a normal and peaceful life.