Russian leader Vladimir Putin said that the possible deployment of European troops to Ukraine would amount to a direct conflict with Russia. According to him, Moscow allegedly has no plans to threaten European countries and sees no grounds for war with them.
Putin made the remarks while speaking to journalists in India, where he is attending events on the sidelines of the BRICS summit.
Putin accused European countries of allegedly pushing their own populations toward an open confrontation with Russia.
“Now they are talking about how they are thinking of deploying troops to Ukraine. This means war with Russia,” he said.
The Russian leader also claimed that Russia had not threatened and did not plan to threaten European states.
The idea of potentially deploying European troops to Ukraine was discussed earlier this year. At the time, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and France signed a declaration of intent that envisaged the possible deployment of a European contingent after a peace agreement between Kyiv and Moscow.
However, contacts over a possible peace settlement later effectively stalled. Recent visits by U.S. representatives to Moscow and Kyiv have so far provided little indication that full-scale negotiations will resume soon.
