China Voices Hope for Deescalation Efforts Amid Macron's Plans to Send Troops to Ukraine

BEIJING (Sputnik) - Beijing sincerely hopes that all parties concerned will contribute to the deescalation of the conflict in Ukraine and the establishment of an effective security architecture in Europe, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Wednesday, when commenting on France's plans to deploy its troops in Ukraine.

"China sincerely hopes that relevant sides will show political will, deescalate the situation and work together for an early ceasefire and a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture in Europe," Lin told a daily briefing.

On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) chief Sergei Naryshkin said that France was preparing to send a military unit to Ukraine, with approximately 2,000 servicepeople to be deployed at the first stage. The SVR director added that French troops in Ukraine would become a "priority legitimate target for attacks by the Russian armed forces." The French Defense Ministry denied the information about the presence of French servicepeople in Ukraine, as well as Paris' plans to send a military unit there.

Following a Paris-hosted conference on Ukraine held on February 26, French President Emmanuel Macron said Western leaders had discussed the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine and, although no consensus had been reached in this regard, nothing could be ruled out. Some EU countries hastened to dismiss such plans.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia had taken notice of Macron's remarks and that some of the countries that participated in the Paris meeting on Ukraine had quite a "wise assessment" of the potential dangers of being involved in a conflict with Russia.