West must not set ‘red lines’ in helping Ukraine, France says

Western allies should not “not set and express red lines” in supporting Ukraine, France’s foreign minister said, in comments that could be interpreted as aimed at Germany’s continued refusal to provide Kyiv with long-range missiles.

Speaking to the BBC on Sunday, Jean-Noël Barrot said that Ukraine could fire French-made missiles into Russia “in the logics of self defense,” while refusing to confirm whether Kyiv had already used the weapons against Moscow.

His comments come after the United States, France and the United Kingdom authorized Ukraine to use their long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia, prompting a furious response from Moscow.

After Kyiv reportedly began deploying the weapons last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Kremlin reserved “the right” to strike military targets of countries that had supplied the missiles to Ukraine.

But Germany has repeatedly refused to join its allies in providing similar weapons. On Friday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz again ruled out sending German-made Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.

Scholz has made his self-proclaimed “prudent” policy toward Russia a cornerstone of his campaign strategy for Germany’s snap election on Feb. 23. Scholz also has repeatedly spoken out against the French proposal to potentially send Western troops — be it only trainers — to Ukraine.

Barrot said he could not rule out sending troops to fight in Ukraine if necessary, reiterating previous comments by French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this year. “We do not discard any option,” he said.

France’s top envoy, who held talks with British Foreign Minister David Lammy in London on Friday, also said Paris could support Kyiv’s ambition to join NATO, a possibility first floated by Macron last year.

“We are open to extending an invitation, and so in our discussions with friends and allies, and friends and allies of Ukraine, we are working to get them to closer to our positions,” Barrot said.