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Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Friday that any Western troops deployed to Ukraine would be legitimate targets for Moscow to attack, responding to French President Emmanuel Macron's announcement that 26 countries had pledged post-war security guarantees to Ukraine.
Speaking at an economic forum in Vladivostok, Putin said Russia has long argued that preventing NATO from admitting Ukraine as a member and placing forces there was one of its reasons for going to war.
"Therefore, if some troops appear there, especially now, during military operations, we proceed from the fact that these will be legitimate targets for destruction," Putin stated.
Putin's comments came a day after Macron said 26 countries had pledged to provide post-war security guarantees to Ukraine, including an international force on land, sea and in the air.
France and Britain, which co-chair a "coalition of the willing" in support of Ukraine, have signaled they are open to deploying troops to Ukraine after the war ends.
U.S. President Donald Trump has recently stated that Washington will not deploy troops on the ground but may provide other support, such as air power.
Putin emphasized that foreign military presence would be unnecessary if a lasting peace agreement is reached.
"If decisions are reached that lead to peace, to long-term peace, then I simply do not see any sense in their presence on the territory of Ukraine, full stop," he said.
The Russian president stated that security guarantees must be set in place for both Russia and Ukraine, adding, "I repeat once again, of course, Russia will implement these agreements. But, in any case, no one has discussed this with us at a serious level yet."
Putin's comments highlighted the gulf between Moscow's position and that of Kyiv and its Western allies on the shape of future security guarantees for Ukraine under any agreement to end the three-and-a-half-year war.
Trump, who took office in January with a pledge to end the war quickly, hosted Putin for a summit in Alaska last month that failed to achieve any breakthrough.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has long been pushing for a direct meeting with Putin in order to make progress toward ending Europe's deadliest war for 80 years.
Putin said Friday that he did not see much point in meeting with Zelenskyy because "it will be practically impossible to reach an agreement with the Ukrainian side on key issues."
However, he reiterated an offer made earlier this week to host Zelenskyy for talks in Moscow.
"I said: I'm ready, please, come, we will definitely provide working conditions and security, a 100% guarantee," Putin stated.
"But if they tell us: 'we want to meet with you, but you have to go somewhere else for this meeting', it seems to me that these are simply excessive requests on us," he added.
Zelenskyy, without directly addressing the possibility of Moscow as a venue, responded Friday: "We are ready for any kind of meetings. But we don't feel that Putin is ready to end this war. He can speak but it's just words, and nobody trusts his words."
Putin reiterated Russia's stance on Ukraine's potential membership in international organizations, noting that while Russia does not oppose Ukraine's EU membership and considers it a legitimate choice, it opposes NATO membership due to Russian security concerns.
"This is among the main reasons for Ukraine being drawn into NATO," Putin said.
Putin argued that Ukraine's judicial system has collapsed and expressed skepticism about Kiev's political will to negotiate.
"I don't think Kyiv has the political will to negotiate. Even if it does, there are legal and technical difficulties. According to the Ukrainian constitution, territorial agreements need to be approved by referendum, but for this, martial law needs to be lifted," Putin explained.
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