Germany and Italy Rule Out Troop Deployment to Ukraine, Urge Focus on Ceasefire
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni jointly affirmed on Saturday that Europe is not contemplating the deployment of troops to Ukraine, stressing that the continent's immediate priority remains securing an unconditional ceasefire from Russia.
The Gaze reports on this with reference to Reuters.
“We are still far from any serious conversation about sending troops. Right now, our focus is entirely on silencing the weapons and ending the bloodshed,” Merz told journalists during a press briefing in Rome. He added that discussions about future security guarantees for Ukraine and a possible format for peace negotiations remain premature and undefined.
Meloni, for her part, reiterated Italy’s commitment to joining any credible diplomatic effort to end the war but voiced concern over signs of disunity among Western allies. “From the beginning of Russia’s invasion, Western unity has been our most powerful weapon. At a moment this delicate, we cannot afford internal rifts driven by personal agendas,” she warned.
Her comments come amid speculation surrounding her absence from a high-level meeting held Friday in Albania, where leaders of France, Germany, the UK, and Poland met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. According to Italian media, Meloni was deliberately excluded at the behest of French President Emmanuel Macron – a suggestion she neither confirmed nor denied.
During the summit, the European leaders also held a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump, who later announced plans to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday in a potential diplomatic opening.
French President Emmanuel Macron has recently voiced his backing for the possible deployment of foreign forces to Ukraine. Despite repeated objections from Russia regarding any NATO military presence in Ukraine, Macron made it clear that Moscow would have no authority to influence such decisions.
As The Gaze reported earlier, Merz said that Europe is disappointed that Russia did not use the opportunity to bring the end of the war closer by not presenting a delegation of the appropriate level in Istanbul.