In what appears to be a move to pressure the United States to spend more money to support Ukraine and to pressure German Chancellor Scholz to decide to send long-range missiles – such as the Taurus cruise missile, which can fly more than 500 km and theoretically reach Moscow and other strategic targets such as the Kremlin – French President Emmanuel Macron has decided to send the United States long-range cruise missiles, which can fly more than 500 km and theoretically reach Moscow and other strategic targets such as the Kremlin, French President Emmanuel Macron, in what appears to be a move to pressure the United States to spend more money on supporting Ukraine and to pressure German Chancellor Scholz to decide to send long-range missiles – such as the Taurus cruise missile, which can fly more than 500 km and theoretically reach Moscow and other strategic targets such as the Kremlin; French President Emmanuel Macron argued that since “Russia cannot and must not win this war in Ukraine, for the sake of Ukraine” and “for the future security of Europe” (. …) “putting troops on the ground cannot be ruled out”.

By Sara Madueño Paulet

These provocative statements were made by Macron in the context of the meeting convened by the president in Paris on 26 February, which was attended by 20 heads of state in support of Ukraine.

Later, at a press conference, Macron will propose that French and other NATO troops reinforce Ukrainian troops on Ukrainian territory and that France lead a coalition of countries planning to send medium and long-range missiles to Ukraine.

To Macron’s surprise, Chancellor Scholz then made it clear that he would not allow Germany to be dragged into the war under any circumstances and that he did not agree with sending German troops to Ukraine, revealing an open discrepancy between Macron and Scholz. Other NATO countries have spoken along the same lines, while others are still trying to set fire to the prairie.

Putin: “Moscow is ready for dialogue on stability and security”.

The Russian leader described speculation about alleged plans for a Russian attack on Europe as “absurd” and “groundless”.

In a speech to the Russian Duma on 28 February – RT reports – he noted that “the West declares that Moscow is planning to attack Europe, while it is choosing targets for attacks against Russia and is already announcing the dispatch of NATO troops to Ukraine,” and echoed French President Emmanuel Macron’s insinuations: “We remember the fate of those who sent their troops to our country [in the past], now the consequences for the interventionists would be much more tragic. They will finally have to realize that we also have weapons capable of hitting targets on their territory”.

With these threats, Putin said, the West was frightening the whole world with the use of nuclear weapons and thus with the destruction of civilization… “The West is trying to drag Russia into an arms race, to wear it down, they want to make Russia (…) a dependent, dying, fading territory where they can do whatever they want”. “In essence, they want to do to Russia what they have done to many regions of the world, including Ukraine. Moscow is ready for dialogue on stability and security, but always with Russia’s interests in mind. If they want to discuss issues of security and stability, which are important for the whole planet, it must be done at the same time”.

Atlanticists repeat Macron’s threats

Far from rectifying his threats, President Macron reiterated his proposal to put troops on the ground in Ukraine, insisting that his words had been “thought out and meditated”.

Meanwhile, NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana dismissed Putin’s warnings as a bluff, saying: “We see no imminent threat of Russia using these weapons”, his comments were “more the logic of psychological intimidation than real intentions”. The New York Times agreed that “Mr Putin has repeatedly made veiled nuclear threats against the West”; US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also admitted to the House Armed Services Committee on 28 February that “frankly, if Ukraine falls, I think NATO is going to get into a fight with Russia”.

General Anthony Cotton of the US Strategic Command echoed Macron, saying “The most important message I want to convey today is that the forces under my command stand ready to deter our adversaries and to respond decisively if deterrence fails”.

Helga Zepp LaRouche: “Where are the adults?

Against this war scenario, Helga Zepp-LaRouche, President of the Schiller Institute and head of the International Peace Commission (IPC), pointed out that “it is as if his (Macron’s) mind is completely disconnected, and an evil genius has taken over his brain and is dictating to him things that are leading the world straight to Armageddon and the nuclear end of civilization. We have to wake up the world because we are on the brink of sliding into World War III”… “There has to be a public debate… so that we do not sleepwalk into World War I like we did in 1914… Where are the adults to stand up and say this has to stop…? People in general are scared, they are afraid”.

Finally, Zepp-LaRouche called for taking up the lesson of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, stating: “I think we have to think of creative ways to multiply ourselves and get more and more people involved in the peace effort… We have to fight the efforts of the war machine to maintain control of the narrative. I think the establishment figures – at least the so-called Atlanticists – are very determined to intensify this. I don’t know what’s going on in their minds, because it’s as if they are completely unaware that this can lead to nuclear war,” he concluded.

In both the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Middle East conflict (Israel in open genocide in Gaza), the ball is in the court of the United States, and the nations of Europe, and as far as we as citizens of the world are concerned, we must raise our voices, as is the aim of the IPC, so that the nations involved in the conflicts not only achieve peace through dialogue, but also ensure lasting peace through development.

Sara Madueño Paulet, contributor to Pressenza Peru and Peru correspondent for EIRNS.

Hence the importance of supporting the Schiller Institute’s proposal of the Oasis Plan for the Middle East, an example to be replicated for the whole world