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Russia will not agree to deployment of Western troops in Ukraine in any form — MFA

Russia is open-minded in terms of what decisions might be made, Sergey Ryabkov noted

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service/TASS

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov

© Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service/TASS

MOSCOW, December 16. /TASS/. Moscow will under no circumstances agree to the deployment of Western troops in Ukraine in any form, including within the NATO framework, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said in an interview with ABC News.

"We are open-minded in terms of what decisions might be made. We definitely will not at any time subscribe to, agree to, or even be content with, any presence of NATO troops on Ukrainian territory," the senior diplomat said.

When asked further whether Russia would be prepared to agree to the deployment of European forces in Ukraine outside the NATO framework, Ryabkov replied: "No, no, no. The coalition of the willing is just the same. May be even worse, because it may be arranged without usual NATO procedures that are more or less stable. Nothing is stable in the Western world these days. So, no confidence, no trust, rather total and dominating mistrust to anything that comes from major NATO capitals."

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Foreign policy Ukraine

Military operation in Ukraine

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