Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned on 21 August that any deployment of European troops in Ukraine would be “absolutely unacceptable” for Moscow, describing the idea as a foreign military intervention. Lavrov made the remarks at a joint press conference in Moscow with India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar after European capitals—including Paris and London—floated the creation of a volunteer peacekeeping force to back the security guarantees Kyiv is seeking before entering substantive peace talks. Insisting that Ukraine’s security architecture cannot be decided “without Russia,” Lavrov accused Kyiv of rejecting a “just and durable” settlement of the conflict that began with the 2022 invasion. His comments underscore the diplomatic hurdles facing Western efforts, led in part by U.S. President Donald Trump, to negotiate a cease-fire and establish long-term security arrangements for Ukraine.