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21:17 GMT
MOSCOW, Aug 20 (KUNA) -- Deputy Chair of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev affirmed that his country would never let go of the notion of sending NATO forces to Ukraine to serve as a peacekeeping force.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, he said, No NATO troops can serve as peacekeepers. Russia will never accept such a suggestion which could pose a direct threat to its interests.
He was responding to statements by the Coalition of the Willing that it was ready to deploy a peacekeeping force soon after Ukraine and Russia sign a comprehensive ceasefire agreement.
Medvedev also hit back at the recent statement by French President Emmanuel Macron that Russia was a destabilizing force that poses threat Europe's security.
Yesterday, he criticized the meeting between US President Donald Trump, on one hand, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and top European leaders, on the other, at the White House on Monday.
"The anti-Russian warmongering Coalition of the Willing failed to outplay @POTUS (US President) on his turf. Europe thanked and sucked up to him," he wrote on his X account. (end)
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