BERLIN, September 3. /TASS/. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that the deployment of Western troops in Ukraine is ruled out as long as hostilities there continue.

"Until that moment [when a ceasefire is reached], there will be no deployment of troops in Ukraine," he said in an interview with the Sat.1 television.

In his words, even if the sides agree on a ceasefire, the deployment of troops will be possible only with "serious reservations." He said there were "lots of obstacles" to this scenario.

Merz said that "anyway, Germany has no plans" of a military mission to Ukraine.

Earlier, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a Financial Times interview that Europe has "a relatively detailed plan" of deploying troops in Ukraine under security guarantees after a ceasefire begins. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius criticized her, saying that it is absolutely wrong to discuss such issues before peace talks begin.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in an interview with NBC News, said that the issue of security guarantees surrounding the Ukrainian settlement should be resolved by consensus, taking into account Russia's fundamental interests. He also emphasized that providing security guarantees for Ukraine through foreign military intervention in any part of Ukrainian territory would be unacceptable to Russia.