Russia has firmly opposed the presence of NATO forces in Ukraine, dismissing the idea of Western troops acting as peacekeepers under any potential ceasefire agreement.
Speaking in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the deployment of armed forces from NATO member states—even under different banners, such as the European Union—remains unacceptable to Moscow.
“The appearance of armed forces from the same countries, albeit under a foreign flag, under the flag of the European Union or under national flags, does not change anything in this regard. This is, of course, unacceptable to us,” Lavrov told reporters.
His comments come as some European leaders, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, have suggested deploying peacekeeping forces in Ukraine if a diplomatic agreement is reached.
Russia has previously demanded that Ukraine surrender control of occupied territories and abandon its NATO ambitions—conditions Kyiv has rejected.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth recently stated that Ukraine’s NATO membership is not “a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement.”
The war between Ukraine and Russia has entered its third year, with ongoing diplomatic efforts to end the conflict. U.S. President Donald Trump has announced plans to broker a resolution between the two nations.
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