Kremlin disputes Trump's claim about Ukraine peacekeepers
Trump said that Russian President Putin "has no problem with," peacekeepers in Ukraine, but the Kremlin contradicted those comments Tuesday.
KYIV, Ukraine — President Donald Trump was incorrect when he said that Russia will accept European peacekeeping troops in Ukraine, the Kremlin signaled Tuesday.
While Trump said Monday during a White House meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron that he had "specifically asked" Russian President Vladimir Putin about peacekeepers and that Putin "has no problem with it," the Kremlin contradicted those comments early Tuesday.
When asked about Trump's remarks in a media call, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that "the Russian foreign minister has already said everything about it, I've got nothing to add."
Peskov was referring to comments Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made last week in a news conference following talks in Saudi Arabia with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Lavrov said that “the deployment of troops ... [from] NATO countries, but under a foreign flag, under the flag of the European Union or under national flags ... is, of course, unacceptable to us.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, right, shakes hands with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, last week.SPA / AFP - Getty ImagesMoscow's denial of Trump's claim that Putin would accept European peacekeeping troops is the latest twist in relations between the Trump administration, America's historical European allies and Putin — who until a recent and rapid warming in relations with Washington had been viewed as a global pariah.
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