State Duma speaks out on possible appearance of peacekeepers in Ukraine

The appearance of peacekeepers in Ukraine can be discussed, but the contingent should consist only of representatives of countries that took a neutral position in the conflict. This was stated by State Duma deputy Alexei Chepa on Tuesday, February 18.

"Regarding the peacekeeping contingent that Europe may send, I would like to note that of the eight participants of the meeting in Paris, where this issue was discussed, half of them spoke out against it and said they would not send their people to Ukraine," Chepa said in a conversation with Lenta.Ru, adding that the number of such countries will increase over time.

Chepa noted that the decision on the possibility of a peacekeeping contingent in Ukraine has not been made yet, and whether there will be a need for it will become clear after the negotiations. At the same time, he admitted that it could be Hungary or India.

Europe at the "children's table" and talk of sending troops to Ukraine. What the media say

On February 17, the Financial Times reported that at an informal meeting in Paris that day, EU heads of state disagreed on sending peacekeepers to Ukraine, RT reported. Germany, Italy, Poland, Poland, and Spain were opposed, 360.ru reported.

Also that day, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that his country was ready to deploy its military in Ukraine, according to kp.ru. At the same time, The Washington Post reported that European leaders were developing a strategy to send 25,000-30,000 military personnel to Ukraine allegedly to provide security guarantees after a peaceful settlement of the conflict, NSN reported.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova called the idea of sending peacekeepers a provocation back in late December last year. She also noted that it was impossible to talk about it because the EU did not have the consent of all the parties to the conflict, as well as a positive decision of the UN Security Council.