Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned against the deployment of any foreign troops into Ukraine, declaring they would be “legitimate targets,” in a blunt warning to Kyiv’s Western allies as they look to agree on a “reassurance force.”<\/p>\n
Putin’s comments during an economic forum in the Pacific port city of Vladivostok on September 5 came hours after leaders from a group of around 30 European countries — along with Canada, Japan, and Australia — met amid a continued struggle with the idea of deploying peacekeeping troops to Ukraine.<\/p>\n
“If any troops appear there, especially now while fighting is ongoing, we assume that they will be legitimate targets,” he said.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n The leaders of the so-called Coalition of the Willing met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Paris on September 4 to try and hammer out details of post-war security guarantees for Ukraine once a peace agreement is reached with Russia to end the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion.<\/p>\n French President Emmanuel Macron, who hosted the September 4 talks, said 26 countries had committed to sending troops “as a reassurance force in Ukraine or to be present on the ground, at sea, or in the air.”<\/p>\n “In the coming days, we will finalize American support for these security guarantees. The United States, as I said, was involved in all stages of the process,” Macron said.<\/p>\n The United States has yet to commit to a clear post-war role, although most participants regard Washington’s participation as crucial to backstopping the allies’ efforts.<\/p>\n Speaking on September 4 at a Prague conference hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who attended the Paris meeting via video link, insisted Russia would not have a veto over the deployment of foreign peacekeeping troops.<\/p>\n “Why are we interested in what Russia thinks about troops in Ukraine?” Rutte said. “It’s a sovereign country.”<\/p>\n “Russia has nothing to do with this,” he said. “I think we really have to stop making Putin too powerful.”<\/p>\n Michael Carpenter, a former White House national-security adviser and ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, suggested the Europeans were being naive about Moscow’s position.<\/p>\n “While European leaders claim Putin doesn\u2019t get to decide on the deployment of a reassurance force, that is belied by the fact that no country is willing to deploy to Ukraine absent a cease-fire, which of course Russia must agree to,” he told RFE\/RL.<\/p>\n “The risk is therefore very real that the Coalition of [the] Willing is providing Ukraine with a Potemkin security guarantee that will very much depend on Moscow’s acquiescence,” he said.<\/p>\n Trump’s Frustrations<\/strong><\/p>\n In Washington, US President Donald Trump has said he’s frustrated by the continued fighting despite high-level talks — and a face-to-face summit with Putin last month.<\/p>\n He’s also sought to pressure European leaders to do more to pressure Moscow. And he’s criticized European nations for continuing to purchase Russian oil and gas — either directly or indirectly, through third-party countries like India.<\/p>\n The value of EU imports of Russian fossil fuels totaled 21.9 billion euros ($23.6 billion) this year, according to the Helsinki-based Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n In a call with European leaders following the Paris meeting, Trump reportedly pressured them on the issue of Russian oil and gas purchases, according to Reuters.<\/p>\n Asked directly if he planned to speak to Putin in the near future, Trump told reporters: “Yeah, I will.” He did not elaborate.<\/p>\n The European Commission has proposed legislation to phase out all EU imports of Russian oil and gas by January 1, 2028.<\/p>\n