NATO troops in Ukraine not violate international rules, says Czech President
Photo: Czech President Petr Pavel (Getty Images)
NATO troops can carry out support activities directly on the territory of Ukraine, as this does not violate any international rules, according to Czech President Petr Pavel.
According to him, it is necessary to draw a clear distinction between the deployment of combat troops and the possible involvement of troops in some "support" activities in which NATO already has experience.
"It should be remembered that after the annexation of Crimea and the occupation of part of Donbas, which was essentially an aggression, albeit on a much smaller scale than today, a NATO training mission was operating on Ukrainian territory, which at one time included more than 15 countries and numbered around 1,000 people," Pavel says.
He emphasizes that from the point of view of international law and the UN Charter, "nothing to prevent NATO member states’ troops – as well as civilians for example – from assisting in the work in Ukraine."
When asked whether he would support the participation of NATO troops in direct support of Ukraine on its territory, Pavel did not say no.
"I would certainly not reject a debate on this issue. If we could agree with the allies that, for example, instead of training Ukrainian soldiers on the territory of NATO member states and transporting thousands of troops to, say, Poland or the Czech Republic, it would make much more sense to transport a few dozen instructors to Ukrainian territory and train Ukrainian soldiers there," he said.
Macron's idea of sending NATO troops to Ukraine
In late February, French President Emmanuel Macron did not rule out sending Western troops to help Ukraine. The main problem, he said, is that NATO currently has no consensus on this issue. A few days ago, the French president explained the conditions under which he is ready to send French troops to Ukraine.
Some NATO countries have already publicly opposed this idea, although some, such as the Baltic states, have supported it. In addition, Politico believes that France is assembling a coalition of countries that are ready to send their troops to Ukraine.
Poland also initially opposed the presence of NATO troops in Ukraine, but later softened its position. In particular, Minister Sikorski stated that a coalition of UN member states to stop aggression is not unthinkable, citing the war between the two Koreas as an example.
