French President Emmanuel Macron has reaffirmed the potential deployment of troops into Ukraine, just a day before a crucial summit with Germany, a country firmly against such a proposition.

In a joint interview with TF1 and France 2 TV on Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated his stance, stating, “We cannot exclude options,” in reference to revisiting controversial remarks made in late February.

During that time, Macron faced criticism for refusing to dismiss the possibility of Western troop deployment in Ukraine, which drew ire from Russia and elicited a backlash from Macron’s NATO allies.

The French leader declined to specify how he envisions a potential troop deployment into Ukraine, stressing instead that “the security of Europe and the security of the French people is at stake here,” CNBC reported.

In response to the comments, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, “France is already involved in the conflict in Ukraine and is not averse to increasing its involvement,” according to Google-translated remarks reported by Russian state news agency Tass.

Macron’s recent remarks once more run the risk of alienating him from NATO allies. Back in February, these allies had distanced themselves from the idea of deploying their own national military forces into Ukraine.

Written by B.C. Begley