Foreign troops in Ukraine would be considered 'legitimate targets' to Russia, Putin says
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that his country's military would consider any foreign troops that appear on Ukrainian territory, especially before an agreed-upon ceasefire, to be "legitimate targets."
His remarks came after European leaders said they finalized a plan outlining potential postwar security guarantees for Ukraine at a meeting in Paris on Thursday.
"As for possible military contingents in Ukraine, this is one of the primary reasons for Ukraine's involvement in NATO. Therefore, if any troops appear there, especially now, during the course of hostilities, we assume that they will be legitimate targets for their destruction," Putin said while answering questions at the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum in the Russian port of Vladivostok on Friday.
"And if decisions are reached that will lead to peace, to a long-term peace, then I simply do not see any point in their presence on the territory of Ukraine," he added.
Following Thursday's gathering in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that 26 countries expressed readiness to take direct action regarding potential postwar security guarantees for Ukraine. Macron said several countries are prepared to contribute "on land, in the sea or in the air" to "reassure the people of Ukraine and maintain the ceasefire once it's implemented, and maintain and guarantee peace."
"The plan will now be taken to the U.S. with the intention of formalizing it in the coming days," Macron said Thursday.
Putin said Friday that the issue of potentially deploying European forces in Ukraine to deter Russia has not been discussed "with us at a serious level yet."
Putin's spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said the presence of foreign troops in Ukraine near the Russian border would be "dangerous for our country."
"It is impossible to ensure the security of one country at the expense of destroying the security of another. This will not help us get closer to a solution to the Ukrainian conflict," Peskov told reporters in Vladivostok. "We are the enemy of NATO. This is written in the NATO documents. We will do everything necessary to ensure our security."
Putin said he has not yet spoken with President Donald Trump about Thursday's discussions between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders, which Trump joined remotely later in the day.
"President Trump and I have an open dialogue and we have agreed that, if necessary, we can call each other, get in touch and come to an agreement," Putin said. "He knows that I am open to these conversations and he is too, I know that. But so far, based on the results of those consultations in Europe, we have not had any conversations."
Security guarantees for Ukraine from European countries are "not yet fully finalized," Zelenskyy said during a briefing after meeting with the president of the European Council on Friday.
"Everything is not yet fully finalized to be discussed in detail," although such a plan does exist, he said.
Zelenskyy said troop guarantees "will definitely not be in single digits, but in the thousands. And that is a fact."
"It is still too early to talk about this," he added.
