PARIS, February 27. /TASS/. The presence of Western troops in Ukraine can be possible for provision of certain types of aid, but this presence does not imply their involvement in the armed conflict, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne told lawmakers.
"We must consider new actions on supporting Ukraine that would meet concrete demands. I am talking about demining, cyber threats, producing weapons locally, in Ukraine. Some of these actions may require presence on Ukrainian territory without crossing the line of involvement in the conflict. Nothing should be ruled out and this is the president’s position today," Sejourne said.
During the February 26 meeting in the Elysee Palace, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that the sides discussed an option to send Western ground troops to Ukraine. According to Marcron, the participants were unable to reach a consensus on this issue, but such scenario is not to be ruled out in the future. The Paris conference on Ukraine was also attended by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Polish President Andrzej Duda, and prime ministers of about 20 EU countries. The US was represented by Assistant Secretary on European and Eurasian Affairs James O’Brien, while the UK was represented by Foreign Minister David Cameron.
On February 16, Macron and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky signed an agreement on cooperation in security. Under this agreement, France plans to ship 3 billion euro worth of military aid to Kiev, which will cover "all aspects of cooperation." This includes cooperation on military industry, troops training, reconnaissance and civilian aid. The document entered into effect at the moment of signing and will remain in effect for 10 years.