Russia rejects EU troops in Ukraine and speedy Zelensky meeting

MOSCOW: The Kremlin on Wednesday said it was against European countries sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine and pushed back against the idea of a speedy meeting between presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.

“We view such discussions negatively,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked for Moscow’s view on a possible European peacekeeping force as part of any deal to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

He said Russia’s desire to prevent NATO countries from having a military presence in Ukraine was one of the initial reasons behind the conflict, which Moscow launched in February 2022 with its offensive.

Ukraine is pushing for Western-backed security guarantees as a part of any agreement to ensure Russia does not attack again, while Moscow is demanding Kyiv cedes more territory in its east.

The security guarantees for Ukraine are “one of the most important topics” in talks over a settlement, Peskov said, adding Moscow would not discuss specifics of what they could look like publicly.

The Kremlin also further pushed back on the idea that a summit between President Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Zelensky was likely to take place soon.

“Any high-level or top-level contact must be well-prepared in order to be effective,” Peskov told reporters, including AFP, in a briefing call.

He also said the heads of Russian and Ukrainian negotiating teams were “in touch” but no date had been set for future talks.