Far-right leader Marine Le Pen says she opposes sending heavy tanks to Ukraine, fearing it could escalate the ongoing conflict with Russia.
The debate on whether to send Ukraine heavy weapons, including modern tanks, which is currently shaking German politics has now crept into France, with prominent politicians making their stances clear.
France and the West should not send heavy tanks to Ukraine, Le Pen said after President Emmanuel Macron said he did not rule out sending heavy tanks to Ukraine on Sunday.
“Won’t all this make the war worse?” she asked in an interview with BFMTV on Monday.
Escalation risks “internationalising the conflict” and “moving away from a negotiated peace solution”, she added, reflecting a sentiment Macron and the whole political class all share.
To look into the matter of sending heavy tanks to Ukraine, Army Minister Sébastien Lecornu has been instructed to “work” on the possibility of delivering Leclerc tanks to Kyiv.
Heavy weapons delivery should also be coordinated with “our main allies” without “weakening our own defence capabilities”, the president added.
(Davide Basso | EURACTIV.fr)
Source: euractiv.com
