British foreign minister David Cameron said he opposes sending Western troops to Ukraine, even for training missions, in an interview with German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung published on Saturday.
Cameron said training missions are best carried out abroad, noting that Britain has trained 60,000 Ukrainian soldiers that way.
Placing foreign soldiers in Ukraine would provide targets for Russia, he said.
French President Emmanuel Macron set off a stir among his allies on February 26 when he did not exclude sending Western troops to Ukraine to help it fend off Russia's invasion.
Britain later confirmed that it had sent small units to Ukraine to help with medical training, but a spokesperson for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the country does not foresee large-scale deployments.
On Friday, French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said there were no plans for the moment to send combat troops, but that Ukraine's allies could consider specific training or de-mining missions.
In his interview with Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Cameron said Ukraine needed more long-range weapons and that he was willing to work with Berlin to lift its reticence to supplying German-made Taurus cruise missiles.
Cameron wouldn't directly address suggestions that Berlin provide Britain with Taurus missiles to free up the UK to send more British-French Storm Shadow cruise missiles to Ukraine.
Berlin has refused to deliver Taurus missiles to Ukraine, fearful that its 500-kilometre (310-mile) range would be used to hit targets deep into Russian territory.
WORLD BRIEFING: April 27, 2024
Since last May, France and Britain have supplied Ukraine with Storm Shadows -- called Scalp in French and with a 250-kilometre range -- while the United States has sent ATACMS, which have a range of 165 kilometers.
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Comments (3)
Dear Lord Cameron,
Please stop telling the Russians what we WON'T do, you entitled moron. You weaken us.
Russia must believe nothing is off limits.
Your area of expertise is international diplomacy not military tactics, Britain should have kept Ben Wallace as defence minister, letting him go was another Rishi Sunak mistake.
Cameron is known in the UK as a failed moron. Most Brits don't pay much attention to him, but support for Ukraine remains high.
Dithering NATO allies get our taxpayer funded weapons and forces into Ukraine!
Russia is the enemy of all democracies whose citizens are growingly tired of putins' multi decade hybrid war. The more silent, yet equally democracy damaging war, our leadership has so far failed to do anytime about. This is your chance...don't waste this opportunity to take out the instigator putin.
Also Russia's crimes against Ukraine are internationally recognized. You have a much stronger case to help Ukraine directly in its defence now then you did intervening in the Balkan war. The only thing I can see that changed since then is allied leadership got more timid and scared to fully commit to just causes.
Seems these days they'd rather focus on domestic EDI initiatives than save an entire allied race from genocide. What is the value of any of social re-engineering pet project anyway if the democracy that allows it succumbs to an oppressive tyrant. Get your priorities straight allied leadership!!!
Screw putin's russian controlled NATO members (Hungary and Slovakia). Replace them immediately with a few of the other non putin aligned nations requesting to joining (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, and Ukraine). Sideline Turkey if needed as well until a less duplicitous leader emerges there.
The EU can get around its current security threat members....why can't NATO?