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The Slovak Prime Minister, Robert Fico Disa, issued a very important statement today regarding the Ukraine-Russia conflict. At a meeting of European leaders in Paris, he said NATO and European Union members are considering sending alliance soldiers to Ukraine.
"I will limit myself to saying that these theses mean that a number of NATO and EU member states are considering sending their troops to Ukraine on a bilateral basis. I can't say for what purpose and what they have to do there ," Fico said at a televised conference after a meeting of Slovakia's Security Council.
Fico, who has long opposed military supplies to Ukraine and has taken a position some critics consider pro-Russian, did not provide details and other European leaders did not immediately comment on his comments.
NATO members have supplied billions of dollars worth of weapons and ammunition to Kiev and are training Ukrainian forces. But NATO leaders, including US President Joe Biden, have underlined that the Western military alliance wants to avoid a direct conflict with Russia, which could lead to a global war.
" Neither NATO nor NATO's allies are parties to the conflict" , said on February 14, the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg.
NATO had no immediate comment on Fico's comments. Asked about the comments, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said the Czech Republic is certainly not preparing to send soldiers to Ukraine and no one should worry about that.
Fico said he saw a risk of a major escalation of the conflict in Ukraine and that more information could not be revealed to the public.
About 20 European leaders, including Fico, will gather in Paris on Monday to send Russian President Vladimir Putin a message of European resolve on Ukraine and counter the Kremlin's narrative that Russia is bound to win a war now entering in her third year, France said.
French President Emmanuel Macron has invited European leaders to the Elysee Palace for a working meeting announced at short notice because of what his advisers say is an escalation of Russian aggression in recent weeks.
Fico said the meeting's call showed that the West's strategy for Ukraine had failed. He said he would attend in a constructive spirit even though the material for discussion sent "shivers down his spine".
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