Grushko calls deployment of peacekeepers in Ukraine a step toward escalation

Russia does not support the idea of deploying European peacekeeping contingents to Ukraine. This was stated by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko on 18 February when asked how Moscow reacts to the relevant signals from the European Union (EU).

"Negatively. And we have talked about this many times. Under whatever guise they are there, this is a step towards escalation, not de-escalation," Gazeta.Ru quoted the diplomat's statement to reporters.

Grushko added that if the EU countries want to help resolve the Ukrainian conflict, they themselves should stop providing military support to Kiev.

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

Earlier in the day, State Duma deputy Aleksey Chepa said that the appearance of peacekeepers in Ukraine could be discussed, but the contingent should consist only of representatives of countries that took a neutral position in the conflict. He admitted that it could be Hungary or India.

Before that, on February 17, the Financial Times reported that at an informal meeting in Paris that day, EU heads of state disagreed over sending peacekeepers to Ukraine. Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and Germany were opposed. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that his country was ready to deploy its military in Ukraine.

The Washington Post also noted 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.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova called the idea of sending peacekeepers a provocation back in late December last year. She also specified that it was impossible to talk about this 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.