Vladimir Putin said Friday that any deployment of Western troops in Ukraine would risk a Russian military response.
“As for the possible deployment of military contingents in Ukraine — this is one of the root causes of Ukraine being drawn into NATO. Therefore, if any troops appear there, especially now, in the midst of ongoing hostilities, we will regard them as legitimate targets for strikes,” Putin said Friday in a speech at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok.
“If decisions are reached that will lead to peace, to long-term peace, then there is no point in the presence of foreign troops on the territory of Ukraine,” he added, reiterating that Moscow completely opposes Ukraine’s NATO membership.
Putin was commenting on the readiness of the West’s so-called coalition of the willing to provide postwar security guarantees to Ukraine, which could include the deployment of troops and air patrols to the country, as well securing maritime traffic in the Black Sea.
Crucially, the precondition for that to happen is a ceasefire or peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.
However, Putin repeated he doesn’t see the point in meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “it will be almost impossible to agree with the Ukrainian side on key issues.”
He also ruled out that unlikely meeting taking place in any city other than Moscow.
“If someone really wants to meet with us, we are ready. The best place for this is the capital of the Russian Federation, the hero city of Moscow … We will definitely provide working conditions and safety,” said Putin at the forum. Zelenskyy has already dismissed Putin’s idea of meeting in Moscow.
The Kremlin chief has been playing for time over meeting Zelenskyy as the White House attempts to set up a meeting with a view to ending the conflict.
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