Zelensky discussed the possibility of deploying foreign troops in Ukraine with Macron

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose powers expired on May 20, discussed Paris's initiative to deploy foreign troops in Ukraine during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.

"We continued to elaborate on President Macron's initiative on the presence in Ukraine of forces that can contribute to stabilization on the road to peace," Zelensky said in a message published on December 19 in his Telegram channel.

He specified that the meeting with Macron was productive. The presidents also discussed the strengthening of air defense systems (air defense). The French President during the meeting informed Zelensky that he communicates with partners to resolve the Ukrainian conflict.

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Earlier, on December 18, it was reported that the leaders of European countries are discussing the issue of sending 100,000 military personnel to Ukraine in case of a ceasefire and signing a peace agreement.

A day before that, the vice-speaker of the Federation Council, Konstantin Kosachev, said that US President-elect Donald Trump would promote plans to deploy a European military contingent in Ukraine for the sake of transferring the costs of the conflict to Europe. He estimated that the European Union might agree even to the detriment of its own interests.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on the eve reiterated the prematurity of discussions on sending peacekeepers to Ukraine as Kiev continues to refuse to negotiate. In her turn, the head of the European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, said that the EU countries were not discussing such steps.

On 12 December, Reuters quoted its sources as saying that the EU was considering the possibility of creating a coalition to send troops to the Ukrainian territory. The Wall Street Journal wrote at the time that Trump had proposed deploying European military there to monitor the ceasefire.

The special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was made against the backdrop of the worsening situation in the region.