MOSCOW, December 25. /TASS/. Reports of potential deployment of EU military personnel to Ukraine are aimed at escalation and represent a provocation, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
"We assume that any of these false reports on the issue of sending foreign contingents to Ukraine are provocative. The aims of these provocations could vary, but in form, of course, and in essence it is a provocation. I think that this time there was a desire to aggravate the already heated situation around the Ukrainian crisis," she said at a news conference.
According to Zakharova, that’s because the voices of people who talk about peace and a settlement through diplomacy are beginning to sound louder, including people in NATO countries.
"And there is apparently a need in the Western party of war for a counterbalance, so to speak, to this talk and these proposals. So they are starting to stir up public opinion, suggesting topics like this," she said.
According to spokeswoman, for a peacekeeping force to participate in any conflict it requires the consent of all participants and a decision of the UN Security Council.
"None of this has happened at this time, and hasn’t even been under discussion. We do not see any steps by the Kiev regime that would be aimed at finding ways to resolve this situation," she said.
"The priority of [Vladimir] Zelensky and his gang is to get some additional weapons, money, military equipment from the US and its allies. They do not hide the goal of continuing hostilities either. As a reminder, the ban on peace talks has not been lifted and there is no movement in this direction. What I mean is the Kiev regime’s ban that it levied on itself under US pressure," the diplomat continued.