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The Kremlin said Wednesday it would not accept European troops in Ukraine as part of any security guarantees, arguing that NATO military infrastructure in the country was among the original causes of the conflict.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow that Russia takes a "negative view" of discussions about deploying European forces in Ukraine, even as part of potential peace arrangements.
"In fact, there are no European troops — most of these are troops from specific countries that are NATO members," Peskov said during his daily briefing. "The presence of NATO infrastructure in Ukraine was one of the reasons for the outbreak of the conflict."
The comments come as Ukraine's European allies work to develop security guarantees that would protect the country from future Russian attacks as part of any peace settlement. However, Peskov dismissed the possibility of such deployments, reiterating Russia's longstanding opposition to NATO presence near its borders.
Despite rejecting European proposals, Peskov praised U.S. President Donald Trump's diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict. "President Trump's efforts are really helping to resolve this complex and long-term conflict that we did not initiate," the spokesman said.
Peskov confirmed that contacts between Russia and the United States continue, describing Trump's approach as constructive in addressing what he called a conflict Russia did not start.
On the prospect of higher-level talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials, Peskov said such meetings "need to be very well prepared" to be effective. He noted that contacts between Russian and Ukrainian negotiating teams continue, though no date has been set for the next round of talks.
The Kremlin spokesman declined to elaborate on security guarantee discussions, saying Russia does not find it beneficial to evaluate the topic publicly "in terms of overall productivity."
Russia has previously proposed that it should serve as one of the guarantors of Ukraine's security, reviving discussions from early 2022. However, Kyiv has rejected such arrangements, viewing them as giving Moscow effective veto power over Ukraine's military partnerships.
The security guarantee issue remains one of the most contentious aspects of potential peace negotiations, with all parties agreeing such assurances must be part of any settlement while fundamentally disagreeing on their structure and implementation.
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