The Greek news outlet Ekathimerini reports that Athens is prepared to participate in an international force in Ukraine only under three conditions: a ceasefire agreement, no deployment on Russian soil, and a clear exit strategy in the event hostilities should resume.
What are the three conditions?
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Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced his country’s pre- conditions at the summit of the Coalition of the Willing in Paris. He unequivocally stated that its participation is possible only after the official announcement of a ceasefire.
He also said that Greek military forces will not be involved in operations on Russian territory, and in the event of a violation of the ceasefire Russia, they will be immediately withdrawn.
The latter constraint raises the question of what purpose the Greek “peacekeeping” force would serve on Ukrainian territory.
Greece insists that any peacekeeping mission should be under the auspices of the UN, as it believes this will give the operation greater international legitimacy.
If the mission is extended, the specific role of Greece remains uncertain. Options such as deploying ground troops to Ukraine or naval participation in the Black Sea are also being discussed.
According to the report, participation in the Black Sea is more in line with Greece’s wider defense interests.
However, Greece may refuse to participate if Turkey is given the right to command maritime forces.
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Finland is ready to support the peace process in Ukraine using all available means, but excludes sending its military to Ukrainian territory because of its proximity to Russia.
According to the poll, 58.5% of Polish respondents strongly oppose sending their troops to Ukraine, while 28% said they would “rather not.” Only 8.4% of respondents supported the idea of sending Polish troops to Ukraine with 5.1% undecided.
Poland has no plans to send troops to participate in a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine but will support countries that send troops to Ukraine.
Sweden is considering sending troops to Ukraine to take part in any post-war peacekeeping mission, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said.
Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs said that his country is ready to consider sending a military contingent to Ukraine as part of the mission, but only if two key requirements are met.
The Czech Republic and Slovakia opposed sending their troops to Ukraine, while France says it is not preparing to send its ground troops to the front.”
The United Kingdom is ready to deploy thousands of its troops to Ukraine for as long as it takes.