WASHINGTON, July 11. /TASS/. Ankara has no plans to take a side in the conflict in Ukraine, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Newsweek.

"We will not be a party to this war," he said, commenting on a NATO discussion about whether the bloc’s instructors and troops could go to Ukraine.

Newsweek said the Turkish leader was skeptical about NATO allies’ strategy to provide more military assistance to Ukraine.

The idea of sending Western ground troops to Ukraine started circulating after French President Emmanuel Macron said in late February that some 20 Western countries taking part in a Paris meeting on further assistance for Kiev had discussed the issue. Later, the Le Monde newspaper reported that Macron planned to create an EU coalition to send instructors to Ukraine. Alexander Syrsky, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, said on May 27 that he had signed documents allowing French instructors to visit Ukrainian training centers. Estonia and Lithuania also expressed readiness "to consider the possible deployment of instructors." Kiev officials noted that they had not yet received specific proposals on the matter but the deployment of instructors could be "the first stage."

The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on May 6, slamming Macron’s statements as irresponsible and pointing to Western media reports about the presence of mercenaries from the French Foreign Legion in areas controlled by the Kiev regime.