French president Emmanuel Macron has said that Europe’s credibility would be “reduced to zero” if Russia were successful in Ukraine, writes GB NEWS.

Macron caused controversy last month after he said he could not rule out the deployment of ground troops in Ukraine in the future, with many leaders distancing themselves from the French president’s comments. French president Emmanuel Macron has said that Europe’s credibility would be “reduced to zero” if Russia were successful in Ukraine.

Macron caused controversy last month after he said he could not rule out the deployment of ground troops in Ukraine in the future, with many leaders distancing themselves from the French president’s comments.

However, Macron has doubled down on his sentiment, saying he “deeply” disagrees with the opposition leaders who said his comments were bellicose.

Macron has drawn ire from both wings of French politics as the party of hard-right Marine Le Pen abstained in parliament on a vote earlier this week about a security pact France signed with Ukraine, while the hard-left France Unbowed party voted against it. In a television interview directed at a domestic audience, Macron said: “If Russia wins this war, Europe’s credibility will be reduced to zero. If war spread in Europe, Russia would be to blame...But if we decided to be weak; if we decided today that we would not respond, it would be choosing defeat already. And I don’t want that”.

“I want Russia to stop this war and retreat from its positions and allow peace...I’m not going to give visibility to someone who is not giving me any. This is a question for President Putin. I have reasons not to be precise”.

Macron said France would never initiate an offensive against Russia, and that Paris was not at war with Moscow, despite the fact that Russia had launched aggressive attacks against French interests in and outside France.