The Kremlin on Wednesday said it was against the presence of European troops in Ukraine, saying Russia’s desire to prevent NATO countries having a military presence in Ukraine was one of the initial reasons behind the conflict it launched in February 2022. When asked for Moscow’s view on a possible European peacekeeping force as part of any deal to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, “We view such discussions negatively.”

He also pushed back on the idea that a peace summit between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky was likely to take place soon, saying any meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents must be “well-prepared”. “Any high-level or top-level contact must be well-prepared in order to be effective,” Peskov said, adding that the heads of Russian and Ukrainian negotiating teams were “in touch”, but that no date had been set for future talks. (AFP)