VATICAN CITY, February 28. /TASS/. Europe’s direct military involvement in Ukraine is a "frightening scenario" because it will lead to the very escalation Europeans have been trying to avoid since the beginning of the conflict, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said.

"It's a scenario that I wouldn't call apocalyptic, because perhaps that's an exaggerated word at this moment, but certainly it's fearsome," the Vatican News portal quoted him as saying. According to the cardinal, "it would bring about the escalation that we have always tried to avoid from the beginning."

In his opinion, French President Emmanuel Macron voiced such a scenario because the conflict is still underway with "no prospect of a solution on the horizon, be it military or negotiated."

"It would be ideal to really find a way to get the two sides to start talking and dialoguing. I believe that if we talk, a solution will be found," the cardinal concluded.

Macron said on February 26 that some 20 Western countries taking part in a recent Paris meeting on further assistance for Kiev had discussed the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine. According to Macron, no consensus was reached on the issue but such a possibility cannot be ruled out in the future. Meanwhile, officials from most of the countries that took part in the meeting have stated that they have no plans to send troops to Ukraine, in particular because they oppose the idea of direct involvement in military operations against Russia.