JAKARTA - Russia considers the deployment of Western troops in Ukraine completely unacceptable, with Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova stressing that the troops will be considered legitimate military targets.
That was conveyed by Zakharova in a briefing in response to comments by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte regarding plans to send troops from the so-called volunteer coalition to Ukraine.
"This is absolutely unacceptable for us," Zakharova said, quoted by TASS (4/2).
Zakharova reiterated Russia's long-held position, stressing, "Russia has repeatedly explained that the presence of Western troops on Ukrainian soil, under any flag, threatens our security. We will treat these troops as legitimate military targets."
Zakharova reminded, "the uncontrolled expansion of NATO's geopolitical space to our borders, including Ukraine, has become one of the root causes of the conflict."
"Without eliminating this, a settlement is impossible," he said.
Zakharova assured "Russia will seek to resolve this issue through military or political means," noting that Moscow has proposed "various options."
As previously reported, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on Tuesday that Ukraine would soon receive a military presence from allied forces once a peace deal with Russia was reached.
Speaking in Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, in Kyiv, Secretary-General Rutte said ground, air and naval forces from countries belonging to the informal group of "willing coalitions" would be deployed to Ukraine "soon."
"Ukraine needs strong support. The coalition that is willing has made progress in terms of guarantees, as mentioned by (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelensky. Once a peace agreement is signed, armed forces, aircraft in the sky, and maritime support from NATO countries that have agreed will immediately appear," he said, launching Anadolu.
It is known that Russia and Ukraine are scheduled to discuss the possibility of a peace agreement in US-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) on February 4-5. This is the second round of the two countries' second trilateral meeting, which was originally held last weekend.
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