Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grushko spoke about the prospects of sending NATO peacekeepers to Ukraine

The deployment of NATO contingents on the territory of Ukraine will mean their participation as a party to the conflict, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said in an interview with Izvestia.

"Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov talked about this — we absolutely do not care under which nameplate NATO contingents can be deployed on the territory of Ukraine: whether it is the European Union, NATO or in a national capacity. In any case, if they appear there, it means that they are deployed in the conflict zone with all the consequences for these contingents," Grushko stressed.

The Deputy Foreign Minister noted that the issue of some kind of international support for the agreement can be approached only when this agreement is worked out.

"And if the parties come to an understanding that the peace package needs international support, then the subject of discussion will appear. We can talk about unarmed observers, a civilian mission that would monitor the implementation of certain aspects of this agreement, or guarantee mechanisms. In the meantime, there is a shaking of the air," the diplomat explained.

Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron took the initiative to send a peacekeeping contingent of the European Union (EU) to Ukraine. On February 26, Lavrov stressed that Russia was not considering any options for deploying European peacekeepers on Ukrainian territory.