MOSCOW: Russia warned that any European troops deployed to Ukraine would be considered legitimate targets by its armed forces, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday, according to state news agency TASS.
Lavrov also accused European politicians of being driven by “ambitions” in their relations with Kyiv and disregarding the people of Ukraine and of their own nations.
Earlier, Lavrov said Moscow would respond to any move to deploy European troops in Ukraine or to use frozen Russian assets to support Kyiv.
He also underlined that Russia has no plans to go to war with Europe.
“However, we will respond to any hostile actions, including the deployment of European military contingents in Ukraine and the seizure of Russian assets. We are already prepared for such a response,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky prepares to meet with US President Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday for further talks on how to end the Ukraine-Russia war.
The two leaders are expected to discuss the latest iteration of a 20-point peace plan and the unresolved question of the future of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.
The original 28-point US plan was presented in November after talks with Russia.
Speaking alongside Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, on Saturday, Zelensky said: “We need two things, pressure on Russia and sufficient strong support for Ukraine.”
Carney said that a “willing Russia” was necessary to create conditions for a just and lasting peace.
Zelensky has described the meeting with Trump as a bilateral meeting mostly focused on US-Ukraine issues.
Key topics include security guarantees from the US and Europe, the military situation, and a roadmap for implementing agreements. The 20-point plan was 90 percent complete, Zelensky indicated, with territorial issues yet to be settled.
