Russian lawmaker rejects European plan for Ukraine truce
Pyotr Tolstoy, head of the State Duma's international affairs committee, said Moscow will not accept European troops in Ukraine under a temporary ceasefire.
Europe hoped to secure a temporary truce in Ukraine so it could deploy troops there, a senior Russian lawmaker said on Sunday, Russia's state news agency TASS reported.
Pyotr Tolstoy, head of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, said in an interview with TASS that the plan is unacceptable to Moscow.
Tolstoy called the idea "very stupid and naive," saying European governments believed a temporary Russian ceasefire would let them send forces into Ukraine under the "coalition of the willing" banner.
"This option is unacceptable for us, and nothing of the sort will happen," he said.
Tolstoy said the European Union's views might be taken into account when the Ukraine issue is resolved, but that they are "not a priority."
He said it remains unknown what the situation will look like by then, adding that the European position "has already changed three times."
The coalition of the willing is a group of mostly European countries, led by Britain and France, that has discussed providing security guarantees for Ukraine after any ceasefire or peace deal.
Russia has repeatedly opposed any Western troop presence in Ukraine, and Moscow has said it would not accept such forces under a settlement.
The war in Ukraine began with Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
