Russia sees 'consistency' in Macron's intention to send French troops to Ukraine

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - French President Emmanuel Macron has been very consistent in the last few weeks about the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.

Speaking at a press briefing in Moscow, Peskov said Moscow is following the situation "very closely."

"French President Macron has been very consistent in the last few weeks in his thesis about the possibility of sending such a contingent ... We continue to monitor this situation very closely," he emphasized.

Head of Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Sergey Naryshkin said on Tuesday that France has been preparing some 2,000 troops for sending to fight at Ukraine's side in the east of the country. The claim, however, was rejected by France as disinformation.

Earlier, Macron refused to rule out the possibility of sending Western ground troops to Ukraine, where Russia launched a "special military operation" two years ago. But the idea was not backed by allies.

Turning to Armenia's approval of the EU monitoring mission on the border with Azerbaijan, Peskov said the move was without Baku's consent, which may put in doubt its efficiency.

"The question is what will be monitored and whether this mission is recognized by the Azerbaijani side. I doubt that such a mandate will be met with understanding there. This is a unilateral decision of Yerevan, therefore the potential effectiveness of such a mission is in question," he stressed.

The Armenian parliament ratified earlier on Wednesday the agreement with the EU about the status of the its monitoring group on the border with Azerbaijan.