Russia is against the deployment of Western peacekeeping troops to Ukraine as part of any settlement to end the nearly three-year conflict, foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has said.
Talk of the possible stationing of foreign troops in Ukraine to enforce any peace deal is circulating in Western capitals, with French president Emmanuel Macron and Poland鈥檚 prime minister Donald Tusk discussing the issue in a meeting in Warsaw this month.
In an interview published Monday by the Russian foreign ministry, Lavrov told the state-run TASS news agency that Moscow opposed that idea as well as others being proposed by US president-elect Donald Trump.
鈥極f course, we are not satisfied with the proposals being voiced by representatives of the president-elect to postpone Ukrainian NATO membership for 20 years and to send to Ukraine a peacekeeping contingent of 鈥楤ritish and European forces,鈥欌�� Lavrov said.
The Kremlin had previously said it was 鈥榯oo early to talk about peacekeepers鈥�.
Trump, who comes to power in three weeks, has claimed he can strike a peace deal in 24 hours and said he will use Washington鈥檚 multibillion-dollar financial and military support to Kyiv as leverage.
He has yet to propose a concrete plan but members of his team have floated various ideas, including the deployment of European troops to monitor any ceasefire along the 1,000-kilometre front line and a lengthy delay on Kyiv鈥檚 ambitions to join the NATO military alliance.
Both the Russian and Ukrainian presidents have ruled out direct talks with each other, and positions in Kyiv and Moscow appear far apart on what would be acceptable terms for a peace deal.
Russian president Vladimir Putin previously demanded that Ukraine withdraw its troops from four eastern and southern regions 鈥� Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk and Zaporizhzhia 鈥� that Russia claims to have annexed, while Kyiv has repeatedly ruled out ceding territory to Moscow in exchange for peace.
Meanwhile, the United States announced a $2.5 billion security assistance package for Ukraine on Monday as Washington races to provide aid to Kyiv before Trump takes office.
Trump鈥檚 November election victory has cast doubt on the future of American aid for Ukraine, providing a limited window for billions of dollars in already authorized assistance to be disbursed before he is sworn in next month.
Monday鈥檚 aid includes a $1.25 billion military 鈥榙rawdown package鈥�, which allows the Pentagon to take weapons from US stocks and send them quickly to the battlefield.
Another $1.22 billion will be funded via the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, under which military equipment is procured from the defence industry or partners.
鈥楾oday, I am proud to announce nearly $2.5 billion in security assistance for Ukraine, as the Ukrainian people continue to defend their independence and freedom from Russian aggression,鈥� president Joe Biden said in a statement.
The drawdowns from the defence department shelves will involve drones, ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, optically guided missiles, anti-tank weapons systems, air-to-ground munitions and spare parts, according to a separate statement from the US State Department.
鈥楾he United States and more than 50 nations stand united to ensure Ukraine has the capabilities it needs to defend itself against Russia鈥檚 aggression,鈥� secretary of state Antony Blinken said.
The latest assistance for Ukraine follows an announcement at the beginning of the month of a nearly $1 billion tranche of drones, ammunition and equipment.
