Only Ukraine decides which foreign troops can be in its territory – Polish FM
Ukraine alone decides whether and when foreign military contingents should be stationed in its territory, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said in Madrid before meeting with his counterparts from Spain, France, Germany, Italy, and the UK to discuss Ukraine, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.
"The first thing we must keep in mind is that Ukraine decides whether and which foreign troops can be in its territory—Ukraine and no one else. There are no results from any negotiations yet," the Polish foreign minister said.
He clarified that if Kyiv requests security guarantees in the form of a foreign presence, the international community will determine in what form this could be provided.
At the same time, Sikorski stressed that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin must not be allowed to dictate "who can or cannot be in Ukraine."
However, the Polish foreign minister believes that deploying a foreign military contingent to Ukraine is premature.
"We do not even have a ceasefire yet, let alone a peace that needs to be protected," Sikorski added.
- On February 20, 2025, reports indicated that European countries were developing a plan to deploy a 30,000-strong peacekeeping mission in Ukraine to ensure its security in the event of a ceasefire.
- The plan would not require U.S. troops to participate in the mission but would involve U.S. support with aviation and intelligence.
- On March 16, The Sunday Times reported that the West was planning to deploy 10,000 peacekeepers in Ukraine.
- On March 20, The Telegraph reported that Macron was considering deploying peacekeepers to Ukraine under the UN's auspices.
