Berlin/Paris. February 27th. INTERFAX - The leaders of a number of NATO countries, in particular Hungary, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, have ruled out the possibility of sending military personnel from their countries to Ukraine, European media reported on Tuesday.
"We discussed what we initially agreed on at the bilateral level, namely that there will be no ground troops or soldiers sent there by NATO forces or European countries," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said.
The representative of the Spanish government, Pilar Alegria, noted that Spain also excludes the possibility of sending EU or NATO troops to Ukraine.
"We need to focus on what is urgent, namely, accelerating the supply of aid to Ukraine," she added, speaking at a press conference in Madrid.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also said he opposes sending troops to Ukraine.
"When it comes to sending troops, we need to be very careful, because we should not make people think that we are at war with Russia. We are not at war with Russia, and I do not support sending Italian troops to Ukraine," Tajani stressed.
Hungary also refused to send its military personnel to Ukraine.
"We see and hear the news about the meeting that took place in Paris yesterday. Hungary's position is clear and unshakable: we do not intend to send any weapons or military personnel to Ukraine," said the country's Foreign Minister Peter Siyarto.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said his country "definitely does not want to send its soldiers to Ukraine" and is not considering such an opportunity.
Poland also rejected this idea.
"Poland is not considering sending its military personnel to Ukraine," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said.
London does not intend to expand its military presence in Ukraine: there is only a small group of British military instructors in this country.
"Apart from a small group of our military personnel who are in the country and support the armed forces of Ukraine, we have no plans to increase this contingent on a large scale," Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's representative told reporters.
He also noted that a large number of Ukrainian military personnel have been trained in the UK.
In addition, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (Austria is not a member of NATO) also criticized French President Emmanuel Macron for provoking a debate about the possible dispatch of troops from European countries to help Kiev. Schallenberg noted that it is necessary to maintain a "diplomatic perspective" and try to resolve the conflict in Ukraine through negotiations.
Earlier, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also said that the alliance has no plans to send combat units to Ukraine.
On the eve of the Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, before the meeting of EU leaders in Paris, said that several NATO countries are considering the idea of sending their soldiers to Ukraine, but no one in the alliance countries mentions peace initiatives. Fico stressed that Slovakia would not send its soldiers to Ukraine.
