Kremlin: Security for Ukraine only possible without foreign troops

On Friday, the Kremlin emphasized that security guarantees for Ukraine could not be provided by foreign military contingents, especially European or US ones. This was stated by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.
He stressed that such a presence was unacceptable to Russia and could not serve as a security guarantee.

On Thursday, 26 countries pledged to provide security guarantees after the end of the war, including an international “reassurance force” on land, at sea, and in the air. However, Peskov countered that only a domestic force, not foreign troops, could provide a guarantee.

He also pointed out that all necessary security guarantees were already included in the 2022 Istanbul agreements – these would include a neutral, nuclear-free Ukraine that renounces NATO membership and in return receives guarantees from the US, Russia, China, the UK, and France.

A personal meeting between the top leaders of Moscow and Kyiv would only be possible if extensive preparatory work had been done beforehand, especially on technical and legal details.

(reuters, est)