After POTUS comments, Kremlin reaffirms stance against European peacekeepers in Ukraine

PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — Service members of pro-Russian troops ride an armored personnel carrier on the outskirts of the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, April 12, 2022. Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters

MOSCOW (Reuters) -     The Kremlin, asked about an assertion by U.S. President Donald Trump that Russia was open to European peacekeepers being deployed in Ukraine, referred reporters to an earlier statement that such a move would be unacceptable to Moscow.

Russia has repeatedly said it opposes having NATO troops on the ground in Ukraine, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov saying last week that Moscow would view that as a "direct threat" to Russia's sovereignty, even if the troops operated there under a different flag.

Asked about Trump's comment, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refrained from publicly contradicting the U.S. president, but effectively reaffirmed Russia's opposition to the idea.

"There is a position on this matter that was expressed by the Russian Foreign Minister, Lavrov. I have nothing to add to this and nothing to comment on. I leave this without comment," said Peskov.

Trump said on Monday that both he and Putin accepted the idea of European peacekeepers in Ukraine if a settlement was reached to end the war.

"Yeah, he will accept that," Trump said. "I specifically asked him that question. He has no problem with it."

 (Reporting by Dmitry Antonov, Writing by Felix Light and Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Andrew Osborn)