Turkey would be ready to deploy troops to Ukraine as part of a broader peacekeeping mission if needed, Agence France-Presse reported on Thursday, citing a Turkish Defense Ministry spokesperson.
“The issue of contributing to a mission … will be evaluated with all relevant parties if deemed necessary for the establishment of regional stability and peace,” Rear Adm. Zeki Aktürk, spokesperson for the ministry, said at a news conference on Thursday.
His remarks came as European Union leaders were meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Brussels to seek ways of bolstering the defenses of both Ukraine and Europe after US President Donald Trump suspended military aid and intelligence sharing to Kyiv to help it fight off Russia’s invasion.
Paris and London have already expressed a willingness to deploy troops to Ukraine to ensure that a possible future ceasefire is preserved, without saying what role those troops would play.
Bolstering European defenses has taken on acute urgency after Trump made clear his desire to quickly end the three-year war in Ukraine through direct negotiations with Moscow.
NATO member Turkey has sought to maintain good relations with both of its Black Sea neighbors since the Russian invasion three years ago and has twice hosted direct talks aimed at ending the war.