Macron ruled out sending French troops to the contact zone in Ukraine

France is not considering direct military involvement in the conflict in Ukraine at the moment. This was stated by French President Emmanuel Macron on February 20.

"At the moment we are equipping, supplying weapons, airplanes, training, etc. But, as you know, we are not involved in military operations, we have no fighters. And today we are not planning to send them to Ukraine," he said, answering questions about Ukraine and security in Europe.

In addition, Macron intends to find a way to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to "agree on a real and lasting peace."

On the other hand, he said that France, along with its allies, does not rule out the possibility of introducing peacekeeping forces to Ukraine after the conflict ends.

"I have not taken a decision on sending troops to Ukraine. We are considering sending troops to guarantee peace after it is agreed and signed," the French president explained.

Undivided weight: what the EU is willing to do to maintain influence in the Ukrainian issue

And why Russia does not want to see the Europeans at the negotiating table to resolve the conflict

On the same day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the deployment of NATO troops in Ukraine unacceptable for Russia. He also added that Russia will keep on control and monitor some contradictory statements of the Europeans.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on 18 February that Russian President Vladimir Putin had repeatedly pointed out that NATO's expansion with the absorption of Ukraine was a direct threat to Russia's interests and sovereignty.