In an interview with Le Parisien, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that European consent from Russia is not necessary to deploy peacekeepers and trainers in Ukraine. Macron explained: “If Ukraine requests that allied troops be stationed on its territory, then it is not up to Russia to accept or reject this.”
At the same time, Macron revealed that Paris and London are close to agreeing on a joint plan to send a “peace mission” to Ukraine. According to him, European countries plan to send “thousands of people per country to key regions to implement training programs and demonstrate their long-term support.”
Earlier, news agency Bloomberg reported on Macron’s and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s efforts to win over 37 countries for a so-called “Coalition of the Willing” – a group of states willing to deploy peacekeepers in Ukraine and provide Kiev with security guarantees.
In a Telegram post, Russia’s representative at international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Uljanov, responded to the development. “London and Paris are trying to form a coalition of those willing to serve as ‘peacekeepers’ in Ukraine” he wrote, adding: “Why do they think they are better suited for this situation than peacekeepers from the global South? [Assuming] of course, that there is a need for peacekeepers in Ukraine, which is questionable.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier stated in March that Moscow saw no possibility of compromise on the stationing of a foreign troop contingent in Ukraine.
The corresponding discussions would be led by Western countries “with openly hostile intentions” Lavrov said at a press conference with his Zimbabwean counterpart, Amon Murwira, in Moscow. “They do not hide why they need this.”
If it comes to that, the West would reject the conditions for a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict, as the foreign troops would create “facts on the ground” Lavrov emphasized.