Moscow: Russia calls the statement by the United Kingdom and the European Union countries about moving to the “operational phase” of sending troops of the “coalition of the willing” to Ukraine a bluff since it was conditioned on the provision of security guarantees by the United States, local media reported.

“The statement about the operational details of introducing occupation troops into the post-Ukrainian space from the lips of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is essentially a bluff because he immediately stipulates that this is possible only with the support of the United States,” said Chairman of the Russian Civic Chamber Vladimir Rogov.

Rogov stated that the introduction of third-country contingents into Ukraine would be illegal and would be contrary to the interests of security and the establishment of long-term peace, state-run media agency TASS reported on Sunday.

“I am convinced that the appearance of British, German, French and other foreign troops will make them a priority target for our army since they cannot have any legal mandate to operate in this territory,” the official added.

Meanwhile, the top US and Russian diplomats discussed on Saturday the “next steps” to end the war in Ukraine, hours after Ukraine’s allies agreed to exert pressure on Moscow.

“US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in a call on Saturday. Secretary Rubio and Foreign Minister Lavrov also discussed steps to follow up on recent meetings in Saudi Arabia and agreed to continue working towards restoring communication between the United States and Russia,” US Department of State spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.

Britain hosted a virtual meeting with more than 25 political leaders on Saturday. At a press conference after the virtual meeting, when asked whether any concrete commitments emerged from it, British PM Keir Starmer said the meeting had helped build political and military momentum, with participating countries agreeing to increase collective pressure on Russia.

However, he stopped short of disclosing what specific measures would be taken at the “operational phase.”

Starmer reaffirmed Britain’s willingness to take a leading role in the “coalition of the willing,” a post-conflict arrangement that he announced two weeks ago during a London Summit.

He said Britain is willing to deploy troops on the ground and aircraft in the sky. However, he did not specify how other nations would contribute to the coalition.

Joined by French President Emmanuel Macron and leaders from Canada, Ukraine, Australia, New Zealand, and the European Union, Starmer urged Russia to “come to the table to negotiate a deal.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier said that the presence of NATO troops under any flag and in any capacity on Ukrainian soil is a threat to Russia. Russia will not accept this under any circumstances.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a press conference on March 13 following talks with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko that Moscow agrees with proposals to end hostilities in Ukraine, but they must lead to long-term peace and eliminate the root causes of the crisis, TASS reported.