Emmanuel Macron is risking Vladimir Putin’s fury as he stated Russia will have no say on the presence of peacekeeping troops in Ukraine should a ceasefire be reached. The French president told local press: “Ukraine is sovereign. If it asks for allied forces to be on its territory, it’s not something for Russia to accept or not.”
The UK and France have been among the countries saying to be ready to send troops to Ukraine as security guarantee once the three-year-long conflict ends. However, the Kremlin has rejected with fury any proposals involving foreign troops in Ukraine. Last week, Russian Foreign Secretary Sergei Lavrov said Russia would not accept “under any conditions” NATO soldiers on the grounds in Ukraine.
Mr Macron added that a peacekeeping force would consist of “a few thousand troops per country”, from European and non-European nations, to be deployed at key locations in Ukraine.
A military source told The Times that over 10,000 troops could be deployed by the “coalition of the willing” as Sir Keir Starmer now has “considerably more” support for the plan than when it was originally suggested.
They said a peacekeeping force could be “comfortably north of 10,000”.
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A senior goverment source added: “Things are quite advanced. It will be a significant force with a significant number of countries providing troops and a much larger group contributing in other ways.”
This comes after the Prime Minister hosted a virtual meeting for the “coalition of the willing”, with 26 nations in attendance, including Ukraine, to discuss how to end the protracted conflict.
He urged Putin to engage with negotiations after Kyiv agreed to a 30-day ceasefire earlier in the week, while Moscow has yet to give a firm answer.
He said: “Sooner or later Putin will have to come to the table. So this is the moment. Let the guns fall silent, let the barbaric attacks on Ukraine once and for all stop, and agree to a ceasefire now.”
Sir Keir added that Western military chiefs will meet on Thursday to discuss the “operational phase” of a potential peacekeeping mission.