President Vladimir Putin has rejected Western security guarantees for Ukraine, warning that any foreign troops deployed in the neighboring country would be a “legitimate target” for the Russian military.
Putin’s warning on Friday (September 5) came just a day after dozens of countries pledged to send troops to the war-torn country as a security guarantee in the event of a widely anticipated peace deal between Moscow and Kiev City.
Thursday’s “Common Will” summit saw 26 states agree to provide forces to deter further Russian aggression if President Donald Trump’s efforts to find peace succeed. However, the commitment of the United States, which is seen as crucial to such a security arrangement, remains uncertain.
At the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, an event after the Russian president took part in a public display of close ties with China and North Korea, Putin said: “If some troops appear there (in Ukraine), especially now, during the fighting, we consider them to be legitimate targets.”
Putin added that the deployment of foreign troops would not be conducive to lasting peace and reiterated that Ukraine’s closer military ties with the West were among the “root causes” of the conflict that began in February 2022 when Russian forces invaded.
The Russian leader declared: “If a decision is made that leads to peace, a lasting peace, then I see no reason for their presence on Ukrainian territory.”
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