MOSCOW, May 8. /TASS/. If French troops are deployed to the conflict zone in Ukraine, they will inevitably become a target for the Russian army, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing.
"If the French end up in the conflict zone, they will inevitably become a target for the Russian Armed Forces. I believe Paris understands that this will be the case," she noted.
According to the diplomat, French President Emmanuel Macron’s bellicose rhetoric "is being rejected not only by many European Union and NATO allies," but also - most importantly - "by the vast majority of French citizens." "I think they have fallen victim to Macron’s strategic uncertainty as they are at a loss as to what he is talking about. However, they realize that all this rhetoric is very dangerous and aggressive, and now, it is directly affecting French nationals," Zakharova emphasized.
"We are not at all surprised at how Paris is manipulating this tired story about Russia being a threat to France and the entire Europe or how attempts are being made to justify multi-billion-euro spending on the West’s hybrid war against Russia in Ukraine," the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman pointed out.
In an earlier interview with The Economist, French leader Emmanuel Macron speculated that troops could be sent to Ukraine if Kiev asked for them or if Russian forces broke through the front lines. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that those remarks marked an unprecedented round of tensions.