Netherlands doesn’t rule out Western troops in Ukraine, ‘All options open’ — Dutch Defense Ministry

The Netherlands will not rule out Western troop deployment to Ukraine, though it is “not yet opportune” to do so, the Dutch Chief of Defense, General Onno Eichelsheim, told the NL Times in response to French President Emmanuel Macron’s comments about possible Western troop deployment to Ukraine.

“I think you should keep all options open to see how you can best support Ukraine,” he said.

Ukraine has not asked the Netherlands to send troops and there is no point in discussing it at the moment, Eichelsheim added.

Read also: US will not deploy troops in Ukraine – White House

If Western militaries were to go to Ukraine, it would have to be in a coalition, the Dutch military chef said.

“This could either happen via NATO or via an alliance of 10-15 countries."

"It would be very odd if one or two countries did it," he added.

Possible deployment of NATO troops in Ukraine: What is known

Before the summit of European leaders in Paris on Feb. 26, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico stated that several NATO and EU member states were discussing the possibility of sending their militaries to Ukraine based on bilateral agreements. Slovakia will not take such a step but will respect the decisions of countries that agree to send troops to Ukraine.

French President Emmanuel Macron said later that sending Western troops to Ukraine in the future “could not be ruled out,” though he added that there is currently no agreement on the issue.

Read also: Czech, Polish PMs rule out sending their own ground forces to back Ukraine, despite recent talks

French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal echoed Macron’s statement regarding the possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine, emphasizing that Paris would not accept a situation where Russia wins the war.

Polish President Andrzej Duda mentioned that representatives of 28 countries actively discussed the idea of sending troops to Ukraine during a meeting in Paris, but it did not generate much enthusiasm. This issue was the subject of heated debate.

Poland’s Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk stated that his country “has no project or idea” to send its military to Ukraine.

The issue of sending troops to Ukraine is not relevant for Sweden, said Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.

NATO has no plans to send its military to Ukraine, said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who added that NATO allies have been providing unprecedented assistance to Ukraine since 2014.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also previously opposed sending NATO troops to Ukraine. The White House also emphasized that it does not plan to send American troops to Ukraine.

Regarding Macron’s words, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warned of a direct conflict between Russia and NATO if Western countries decide to send their military to Ukraine.

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