Germany's Scholz rules out deployment of NATO troops in Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron receives German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (R) at the Elysee Palace to take part in an international conference aimed at strengthening Western support for Ukraine. Ludovic Marin/AFP/dpa

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has categorically ruled out the deployment of ground troops from NATO states to Ukraine in its war against Russia.

The chancellor opposed French President Emmanuel Macron's earlier comments that nothing was off the table to make sure Kiev wins the war, including the deployment of French troops.

At a Ukraine aid conference on Monday involving 20 heads of state and prime ministers, it was discussed that what was agreed at the beginning of the war "also applies in future, namely that there will be no ground troops, no soldiers on Ukrainian soil sent there by European states or NATO states," Scholz said on Tuesday.

Scholz added that there should also be no involvement of soldiers from afar in the war. It had also been agreed "that the soldiers who are active in our countries should not take an active part in the war," he added.

French President Emmanuel Macron receives German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (L) at the Elysee Palace to take part in an international conference aimed at strengthening Western support for Ukraine. Ludovic Marin/AFP/dpa

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