German Chancellor: Europe is not discussing sending NATO troops to Ukraine

According to RIA Novosti on May 18, DPA newspaper reported that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said after meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni that Europe is not discussing the issue of sending troops to Ukraine.

“According to Prime Minister Merz, Europe is not currently discussing the deployment of troops in Ukraine, as all efforts are focused on an unconditional ceasefire with Russia,” the article said.

In addition, Prime Minister Merz said that more attention should now be paid to developing a format for further negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

“The next step should be to clarify the format of the peace talks and identify the security guarantees that Ukraine might need one day,” Mr. Merz said.

In late March 2025, French President Emmanuel Macron announced after the Paris summit of the "coalition of the willing" that several countries intend to send deterrent forces to Ukraine.

According to him, they will not replace the Armed Forces of Ukraine and will not play a peacekeeping role. Their goal will be to "contain Russia"; the forces will be deployed to strategic locations that have been predetermined with the Ukrainian side.

Mr Macron added that not everyone agreed with the initiative, but this was not necessary to implement the initiative.

Negotiations between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations lasted nearly two hours on May 16 in Istanbul, Türkiye. As a result, the two sides announced a large-scale prisoner exchange at a ratio of 1000:1000. Moscow and Kiev agreed to present their respective visions for a possible future ceasefire.

During the negotiations, the Ukrainian side requested a meeting of heads of state and Moscow took note of this request for consideration. The Russian side also stated its readiness to continue negotiations.