Macron 'not ruling anything out' when it comes to Western troops in Ukraine

May 3 (UPI) -- The President of France is "not ruling anything out" when it comes to sending Western troops to Ukraine , which entered day 800 of its war with Russia Friday.

French President Emmanuel Macron made the remarks in a story published late Thursday in The Economist.

"I'm not ruling anything out, because we are facing someone who is not ruling anything out. We have undoubtedly been too hesitant by defining the limits of our action to someone who no longer has any and who is the aggressor," Macron said .

"Otherwise we weaken ourselves, which is the framework within which we have been operating until now. In fact, many countries said that in the weeks that followed that they understood our approach, that they agreed with our position and that this position was a good thing."

A Russian spokesperson said Thursday the country would not attend a peace summit scheduled for June in Switzerland. The Swiss government countered, saying Russia was not invited to the conference.

Macron said any military intervention would only occur if Russian military forces were to make certain advances.

In a post on its Telegram channel Friday, the Russian defense ministry said its troops foiled multiple attacks, knocking down six drones operated by Ukrainian forces.

"If the Russians were to break through the front lines, if there were a Ukrainian request -- which is not the case today -- we would legitimately have to ask ourselves this question. So I think to rule it out a priori is not to learn the lessons of the past two years," Macron said in the article, which was published the same day the U.S. Treasury sanctioned nearly 300 targets in Russia, accusing the Kremlin of using chemicals "as a method of warfare" against Ukrainian troops.

Macron's comments come just days before he is set to host Chinese President Xi Jinping for a state visit.

The French President has issued several warnings about Russian aggression in the days ahead of Xi's visit to France on Monday and Tuesday.

"If Russia wins in Ukraine, there will be no security in Europe," Macron said Thursday.

"Who can pretend that Russia will stop there? What security will there be for the other neighboring countries, Moldova, Romania, Poland, Lithuania and the others?"