The potential decision depends on talks with NATO allies and Kiev, Lithuanian FM Kestutis Budrys has said
Lithuania could consider sending troops to Ukraine, but the ultimate decision will depend on talks with its partners and allies, Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys has said.
When asked in an interview with the state-funded broadcaster LRT on Tuesday what the Baltic country would do if Kiev sent a request to put Western boots on the ground in Ukraine, Budrys did not rule out that Lithuania would respond.
”We would talk to allies and partners about what it looks like, and we would talk to Ukraine about what it looks like,” the minister claimed, adding that Lithuania not only uses NATO’s military power, but also helps strengthen it.
“We are actively contributing not only through diplomatic means, but also through other means to ensuring security. There will be such a question – I have no doubt that the Lithuanian flag will be there [in Ukraine],” he stressed.
His remarks came after discussions in December between Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron about the possibility of Western troops being deployed to Ukraine.
In May, Macron refused to rule out sending troops there, but noted that this would only happen if Russia broke through the Ukrainian front lines and Kiev formally requested Western assistance. At the time, numerous Western nations firmly rejected Macron’s idea of deploying ground troops to Ukraine. Moscow has warned that if the West sends its military to Ukraine amid the fighting, this would make a NATO-Russia clash “inevitable.”
However, the potential for foreign troops on Ukrainian soil has also been linked to speculation about stationing a peacekeeping contingent. In particular, US President-elect Donald Trump’s team is reportedly considering a peace plan for Ukraine that includes deploying Western peacekeepers to monitor a potential ceasefire.
On Wednesday, The Daily Telegraph reported that Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer are in talks on sending peacekeepers to Ukraine after any potential deal, with the French leader being described as a “champion” of the idea.
In December, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the issue of peacekeepers could be part of future negotiations over Ukraine, but cautioned there were currently no prerequisites for such talks. Peskov, in particular, recalled Zelensky’s decision to ban peace talks with Russia in autumn 2022 after four former Ukrainian regions voted to join Russia.
At the same time, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has warned that the West wants to freeze the Ukraine conflict by sending 100,000 peacekeepers to the country, in a bid to essentially “occupy” it and give Kiev a respite to prepare for a future clash with Moscow.
