Macron's representatives deny statement about unwillingness to send troops to Ukraine in near future

Contrary to media reports, French President Emmanuel Macron did not say there would be no deployment of French troops in Ukraine "in the near future".

Source: European Pravda 

On 4 March, Czech news portal Novinky posted a news report citing Macron's words from a joint interview with two Czech media outlets. In particular, it included the following quote from the French president.

Quote: "This does not imply that we are considering sending French troops to Ukraine in the near future, rather that we are starting a discussion and considering everything that can be done to assist Ukraine, particularly on Ukrainian territory."

This statement was publicised in Ukraine as well amid discussions about the possible deployment of troops to Ukraine which Macron had initiated earlier. In particular, this excerpt from the interview was reported by European Pravda.

 Paris insists that this was not mentioned in the president's conversation with the Czech media. A French diplomat also provided European Pravda with a transcript of the interview, which does not contain the quote that was originally published on the Novinky website.

The Czech media, meanwhile, removed the quote, which the Élysée Palace denies. As of now, Macron's quote about troops "in the near future" is indeed missing from the news.  But it is included in the archived copy of the page as of noon on 4 March, and has been there for at least a few hours.

Reminder: 

• Last week, Emmanuel Macron said that the possible deployment of Western troops in Ukraine "should not be ruled out". He later added that his resonant words had been carefully thought through.
• At the same time, the French president's statements provoked a negative reaction from the governments of the allied countries, whose leaders were quick to assure that they would not send their troops to Ukraine.

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