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EU, NATO mull sending troops to Ukraine — Slovak PM

Robert Fico vowed that Slovakia would under no condition send its military personnel to Ukraine
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico AP Photo/Denes Erdos
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico
© AP Photo/Denes Erdos

BRATISLAVA, February 26. /TASS/. Some EU and NATO member-states are considering sending their military servicemen to Ukraine per relevant bilateral agreements with Kiev, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said following an urgent government meeting before departing for a meeting on Ukraine in Paris.

"A group of EU and NATO member-states are pondering sending their military personnel to Ukraine on the basis of bilateral agreements," Fico said.

He vowed that Slovakia would under no condition send its military personnel to Ukraine. The day before, Fico said that he would not do this even if it meant losing his post as prime minister.

"We cannot prevent other countries from concluding bilateral agreements with Ukraine [implying the possibility of sending soldiers], but we state it clearly that the expected aim will not be achieved <...>. We believe that the decision [to send soldiers to Ukraine] will trigger a huge escalation of tension," the Slovak prime minister warned.

Fico reiterated that the West's strategy in Ukraine was not working. The ideas to be discussed in Paris, he said, "send shivers down my spine."