Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov today criticized the European proposal to deploy multinational forces in Ukraine to ensure security as part of a solution to the conflict, Agence France-Presse reported, quoted by BTA.
"This is not so much a security issue, but a new, I would say, brazen attempt to impose military control over Ukrainian territory and use it as a way to intimidate Russia," Lavrov said during a visit to Cairo.
The leaders of several European countries and the EU on Monday proposed to head a "multinational force" in Ukraine to "provide Ukraine with solid security guarantees and measures to support economic recovery as part of an agreement to end the war".
This "multinational force for Ukraine" could be "composed of volunteer countries and supported by the United States".
Moscow has repeatedly rejected the idea of Western forces in Ukraine and warned that they could be considered "legitimate targets".
Diplomatic efforts to agree on a plan to end the conflict in Ukraine have intensified in recent weeks, under pressure from Donald Trump, who has urged Kiev to "move forward quickly" to a new round of talks in Florida later today between Ukrainian and American negotiators.
The Ukrainian president earlier said he hoped to receive details of security guarantees offered to Kiev to prevent further Russian attacks in the event of peace.