France and the UK reportedly showed a weakening desire to deploy troops to Ukraine at recent talks

France and the UK displayed a weakening resolve to put boots on the ground in Ukraine at recent talks in London, The Times has reported, citing anonymous sources.

Defense chiefs from a number of NATO states have been debating deploying forces to Ukraine as part of a "coalition of the willing."

The initiative was proposed as a means of providing Kiev with security guarantees in the event of a ceasefire with Russia, and has been led by France and the UK. Moscow has rejected the idea of troops from the US-led military bloc being deployed to Ukraine under any pretext.

According to The Times, the UK-French plan displayed cracks during talks in the UK capital on Wednesday.

"Sir Keir Starmer and President Macron of France have offered to deploy troops to Ukraine to keep the peace as part of a 'coalition of the willing,' but during talks in London sources told The Times there appeared to be a softening of the commitment," the newspaper wrote on Wednesday.

However, a defense source told the outlet that the UK is not prepared to abandon the plans entirely.

Some European officials fear Moscow would never tolerate the deployment of such a force to Ukraine, The Times reported.

Russia has warned that it will consider the presence of European troops in Ukraine as being a NATO deployment, whether under the guise of peacekeepers or otherwise, and will treat them as valid military targets. Moscow has repeatedly stated that NATO's eastward expansion and Kiev's aspirations to join the military bloc are among the key causes of the conflict.

The deployment of NATO troops in Ukraine could lead to a direct clash between the US-led bloc and Russia, setting off World War III, Russia's National Security Council Secretary and former Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has said.

The troop deployment plan comes as EU states have floated a $840 militarization plan for the bloc, citing a perceived threat from Russia.

Moscow has repeatedly criticized the EU's continued flow of armaments to Ukraine, arguing that Western European nations appear more interested in prolonging the fighting rather than resolving the conflict diplomatically.

(RT.com)