Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok (Russia), President Putin said: "If soldiers appear there, especially now, in military operations, we consider them legitimate targets to destroy."
The Russian leader affirmed that any solution to seek peace, especially "a lasting peace", would not require the presence of NATO troops in Ukraine, or as he described it, "not seeing any sense".
No one should doubt that Russia will fully implement the terms of its commitments. We will respect the security guarantees that need to be given to both Russia and Ukraine, the Russian president stressed.
Mr. Putin also reiterated that the root cause of the conflict is the Western drag of Ukraine into NATO.
Mr. Putin's statements came just a day after French President Emmanuel Macron announced that Paris and 26 allies in Europe were ready to provide security guarantees to Ukraine in the post-conflict period, including an international force on land, at sea and in the air.
Mr. Macron made this statement at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Elysee Palace in Paris on September 4, after a summit of leaders of 35 countries in the "voluntary alliance".
Notably, the list of countries that agreed was not published, while some countries have publicly expressed their refusal to participate.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni affirmed that he will not send troops to Ukraine, but is ready to participate in supervising the ceasefire and training Ukrainian troops outside the territory.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov said the country has no plans to send troops to Ukraine, but could participate in activities to search for ice in the Black Sea.
Meanwhile, Germany stressed that it would only decide on military commitments when conditions were right, especially the role of the United States.
