Kremlin Says Macron Comments 'An Important New Element' In Ukraine War

Following on from French President Emmanuel Macron's comments on 26 Feb claiming that the prospect of Western troops being sent to Ukraine cannot be ruled out (see 0952GMT bullet), Kremlin spox Dmitri Peskov says that any such move would lead to a direct clash between Russia and NATO. Speaker of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev posted on Telegram that NATO troop deployment in Ukraine, "is the line beyond which it is no longer just NATO’s participation in the war (this has been happening for a long time), but can be interpreted as the alliance’s involvement in direct hostilities, or even as a declaration of war,"

• State-run RIA reportsPeskov saying that Macron's comments about “sending certain contingents to Ukraine from NATO countries” were "an important new element."
• Goes on to say that the lack of consensus means that a number of countries at the Paris summit retain a “a fairly sober assessment of the potential dangers of such an action and the potential danger of direct involvement in a hot conflict.”
• Indeed, Hungarian Foreign Minsiter Péter Szijjártó stated that "We are not willing to send weapons or troops to Ukraine," and that this stance is "rock solid." Says the war "must be finished, not expanded."