NATO Official Says Alliance Must Review French Plan to Send Trainers to Ukraine
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WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - NATO's top military officer Adm. Rob Bauer said on Friday regarding France's proposal to send military trainers to Ukraine that the NATO alliance must first have discussions on this matter before any planning moves forward.
"If it comes to it, it is most likely something that NATO is going to get involved in," Bauer said during a Washington Post interview.
"So, in that sense, I think it is extremely important before anything like that would happen, is that there is a discussion among political leaders in the [NATO] alliance."
Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron told a French TV channel that Paris will transfer Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets to Kiev and train Ukrainian pilots. Macron also said that France plans to train 4,500 Ukrainian soldiers, but does not consider this decision to be an "escalation."
Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky said that he had signed a permit for French instructors to visit training centers in Ukraine, welcoming "France's initiative to send instructors to Ukraine to train Ukrainian servicemen."
French military instructors to train Ukrainian soldiers
— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) May 27, 2024
Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrsky has signed a permit for French military instructors to work in training centers in Ukraine.
“I cordially welcome France’s initiative to send instructors to… pic.twitter.com/dzHx6pj95u
Following a Paris-hosted conference on Ukraine held on February 26, French President Emmanuel Macron said Western leaders had discussed the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine and, although no consensus had been reached in this regard, nothing could be ruled out. Some EU countries hastened to dismiss such plans.
