German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has assured that there will be no German troops in Ukraine while the conflict there continues. He stated this in an interview with the media group Funke.
„Such speculation, in my opinion, is currently unacceptable,” said the head of the German government. “As long as the war rages, there will be no soldiers from Germany, no German ground troops in Ukraine”, Scholz promised.
The chancellor noted that in the future it will be necessary to discuss the issue of Ukraine's security guarantees. “What these guarantees will ultimately look like will be the subject of discussion with Ukraine”, he said.
Scholz also reiterated that he would not transfer Taurus cruise missiles to Kiev even if re-elected as German chancellor. “Germany supplies Ukraine with many weapons: for air defense, as well as heavy artillery and tanks. This is what we will continue to do, he said. “But I stand by my decision not to deliver cruise missiles that can reach targets deep inside Russian territory. An escalation of this war must be avoided,” the chancellor said, answering a question about the possibility of moving Taurus if he becomes head of government again.
Earlier, German Foreign Minister Analena Berbock at a meeting of NATO foreign affairs ministers in Brussels, according to some media, did not rule out sending peacekeepers from Germany to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire. According to her, along with the security guarantees in the form of NATO membership, an “international presence to guarantee compliance with the truce“ can be considered. The politician added that Germany will do its best to support any actions aimed at achieving peace.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on February 26 that at a meeting in Paris with the participation of representatives of about 20 Western countries, the topic of the possible sending of ground forces of Western countries to Ukraine was raised. According to him, then the participants did not reach a consensus on this issue, but such a scenario cannot be ruled out in the future. The press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, stated that the appearance of foreign military contingents in Ukraine will be fraught with extremely negative consequences, even irreparable.