The Kremlin rejected a claim from US president Donald Trump that it was open to European peacekeepers serving in Ukraine but welcomed what it called Washington’s “much more balanced position” on ending Europe’s biggest war since 1945.
In a meeting with French president Emmanuel Macron in Washington on Monday, Mr Trump said he had “specifically asked” Russian president Vladimir Putin about his view on the prospect of European troops overseeing a possible peace agreement in Ukraine.
“Yeah, he will accept that,” Mr Trump said. “He has no problem with it.”
On Tuesday, however, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov answered a question on the issue by referring to “a position on this matter that was expressed by Russian foreign minister [Sergei] Lavrov. I have nothing to add to this.”
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After talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia last week, Mr Lavrov said: “We explained today that the appearance of troops … from Nato countries but under some other flag, under the flag of the European Union or national flags, does not change anything and is, of course, unacceptable to us.”
Britain said this week it was “ready and willing” to send peacekeepers to Ukraine alongside soldiers from European countries and “ultimately a US backstop will be vital to deter Russia from launching another invasion in just a few years”.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin signalled last week that the Republic would consider sending peacekeepers to Ukraine if they had an international mandate.
Ukraine would welcome European peacekeepers to help preserve any peace agreement but insists that only US security guarantees could ensure Russia does not repeat the full invasion of its pro-western neighbour that began three years ago.
Explicit pledges of US security support are not believed to be part of a deal being pushed by Mr Trump that would involve Ukraine giving the US access to hundreds of billions of dollars in its natural resources. Mr Trump’s comments suggest he sees it as “payback” for aid given to Kyiv during the presidency of his predecessor, Joe Biden, rather than a deal for resources in exchange for protection from any future Russian attack.
Ukrainian and US officials said on Monday they were close to an agreement on rare earths and metals before Mr Putin declared that Russia had “significantly more” of the resources and would “be ready to offer [joint projects with] our American partners”.
The EU also appeared to enter the race for a deal, when its commissioner for industrial strategy, Stephane Sejourne, said after talks in Kyiv that “21 of the 30 critical materials Europe needs can be provided by Ukraine in a win-win partnership ... The added value Europe offers is that we will never demand a deal that’s not mutually beneficial.”
On Tuesday, however, European Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier said Mr Sejourne had only “reaffirmed” current agreements on rare earth co-operation between Ukraine and the EU, rather than proposing any new deal: “This is about co-operation with Ukraine and not about any sort of competition with the US.”
Mr Peskov praised the US for “taking a much more balanced position” on the war after it clashed with Kyiv and erstwhile European allies at the United Nations by opposing resolutions that denounced Russia as the aggressor in Ukraine.
Damage done by Russia to Ukraine’s economy will cost an estimated $524 billion (€499 billion) to repair, according to a new study by the World Bank, United Nations, European Commission and the government in Kyiv.
As heavy fighting continued in eastern Ukraine, at least one person was killed and 14 hurt in a Russian air strike on the city of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region.
