While French President Emanuel Macron was sticking his foot in it by suggesting that NATO was discussing deploying ground troops to Ukraine — a position every NATO country has denied forcefully — Republican senators were bowing to reality and calling for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
“There is no consensus today to officially, openly, and with endorsement, send troops on the ground. But in terms of dynamics, nothing should be ruled out,” Macron said on Monday during a press conference, adding that allies “will do everything necessary to ensure that Russia cannot win this war.”
That statement set off a flurry of panicked replies from NATO countries assuring Russian President Vladimir Putin and the world that there were no such discussions underway. That didn't stop the Russians from gleefully piling on.
“To maintain personal power, Macron came up with nothing better than to spark a third world war. His initiatives are becoming dangerous for French citizens,” Russian State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin said on Telegram. Volodin compared Macron to Napoleon who famously destroyed his army in a bid to conquer Russia.
Back home, many GOP senators were making it known that they no longer support the dream of kicking Russia out of Ukraine.
"The reality at this point that we have to confront is that that war ends with a negotiated settlement," said Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. "And the question is — when they finally figured that out — when we finally get to that point, who has more leverage — Putin or Ukraine?”
That's a nice summation of a situation with many complexities. Ukraine is going to need American aid to gain any "leverage" at all.
Macron's gaffe — if that's what it was — actually helps clarify the situation for Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. There will be no NATO troops coming to Ukraine's rescue. For all of Zelenskyy's courageous and inspiring leadership, he must be made to understand that his pledge to retake all land seized by Russia is a fantasy.
Perhaps he feels he has no choice. How can he ask his men and women to die for a better negotiating position?
"Washington always seems to be a few months behind the reality on the ground," Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) told Politico. "[I think there's a] stalemate probably indefinitely and hopefully that leads to some sort of settlement where Ukraine gets to keep its country and the killing stops.”
The comments, now more than two years after Russia originally invaded Ukraine, reflect a view in many quarters of the GOP that Ukraine's odds of winning the war outright are low. And, in the meantime, there's growing Republican resistance to sending the allied country unconditional aid.
"It looks like it could go on for a long, long time," said Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.). "That looks like a line that would take an immense amount of money and time to move off of where it is.”
Republican House leaders have so far refused to call a vote on additional aid to Ukraine amid reports its troops are running low on ammunition against Russia. Some in the Senate GOP are urging that chamber to move expeditiously to send in reinforcements.
Meanwhile, Macron is under fire for suggesting that combat troops go to Ukraine. His foreign minister, Stephane Sejourne, tried some damage control before the French parliament.
“We must consider new actions to support Ukraine. These must respond to very specific needs, I am thinking in particular of mine clearance, cyberdefence, the production of weapons on site, on Ukrainian territory,” Sejourne told lawmakers, Reuters reported.
“Some of its actions could require a presence on Ukrainian territory, without crossing the threshold of fighting. Nothing should be ruled out. This was and still is the position today of the president of the Republic,” he added.
If this doesn't convince Zelenskyy of the futility of angling for NATO help in the war with Russia, it's hard to see what else would work.
