WASHINGTON, February 28. /TASS/. The possible deployment of troops to Ukraine is a sovereign decision of third countries, however, both the United States and NATO have previously made it clear that they have no such plans, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

Speaking about how the United States would feel about its NATO allies sending troops to Ukraine and commenting on French President Emmanuel Macron's remarks on the topic, he said: "That’s a sovereign decision that every NATO ally would have to make for themselves. You heard Secretary General [Jens] Stoltenberg say himself he had no plans or intentions of putting troops on the ground under NATO auspices. And [US] President [Joe] Biden has been crystal clear since the beginning of this conflict: there will be no US troops on the ground in a combat role there in Ukraine."

"Look, we'll let President Macron speak for his military and what he is or is not willing to do with his troops. The President's been clear. He does not support US troops involved in this conflict in Ukraine. And I'll leave it at that," the White House spokesman added.

When asked whether the US could send its troops to Ukraine for purposes not directly related to combat, the spokesman said: "No, the only US military personnel that are in Ukraine are associated with the embassy as part of the Defense Attache Office and they're doing important work in terms of helping us with the accountability of weapons and systems that are provided to Ukraine. The President's been clear there's not going to be US troops on the ground in Ukraine."

After a conference on Ukraine in Paris on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron said that he did not rule out that land forces from Western countries could be sent to the zone of special military operation. He also said that Western counties were "determined to do everything it takes to prevent Russia" from gaining the upper hand in the conflict.

Commenting on Macron's remarks, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov pointed out that if Western troops were sent to Ukraine, a direct military conflict between NATO and Russia would be inevitable. He added that the NATO members should be aware of this and "ask themselves whether this is in their interests and, above all, in the interests of the citizens of their countries."