President: Peacekeeping mission in Ukraine should be part of security guarantees

He said this in an interview with The Guardian, Ukrinform reports.

Commenting on French President Emmanuel Macron's idea to deploy European peacekeeping forces in Ukraine, Zelensky said that such a mission would work only if it was deployed on a large scale.

“When it comes to Emmanuel’s idea, if it’s part [of a security guarantee] then yes, if there will be 100-150,000 European troops, then yes. But even then we wouldn’t be at the same level of troops as the Russian army that is opposing u,” he said.

Zelensky said that a peacekeeping mission is unlikely to work without guarantees that it will stand up to Russia if Moscow resumes hostilities.

“I will be open with you, I don’t think that UN troops or anything similar has ever really helped anyone in history. Today we can’t really support this idea. We are for a [peacekeeping] contingent if it is part of a security guarantee, and I would underline again that without America this is impossible,” he added.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, European leaders are discussing sending troops to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire or peace agreement, which may require up to 100,000 troops.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has previously stated that any effective peacekeeping force deployed to Ukraine must include American troops.

Photo: Julia Kochetova/The Guardian