Belgium's defense minister admits: Ukraine ceasefire serves the invasion of NATO troops

What Moscow had claimed has now been confirmed by Belgium's defense minister: Western troops are to be stationed in Ukraine “immediately” after the start of the ceasefire demanded by Russia - the temporary silencing of weapons serves to escalate the situation. Kiev sees “no room for compromise” in negotiations with Moscow.

Two weeks ago, the UK, Germany, France and other EU states joined Kiev in demanding a 30-day “unconditional” ceasefire from Moscow. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz had announced a “massive” expansion of military support for Ukraine if Moscow did not give in. However, Russia let the ultimatum lapse.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas had also threatened Moscow with further sanctions if there was not a ceasefire in Ukraine soon. On Tuesday, Brussels then imposed its 17th package of sanctions with reference to Moscow's refusal to agree to a ceasefire.

After the sanctions, which violate international law, came into force, Kallas demanded “tough measures” from the USA if Russia was not prepared to agree to a ceasefire. However, US President Donald Trump has already stated that he rejects the “unconditional” ceasefire demanded by the Europeans for peace talks.

The representatives of the European “coalition of the willing” led by Paris and London have never explained why the requested ceasefire should last exactly 30 days and no longer.

Moscow refuses to agree to such a ceasefire, arguing that a ceasefire can only be the goal of negotiations and not a prerequisite for them.

Russia accuses the coalition of only wanting to use the ceasefire to give the distressed Ukrainian army a breather so that it can then continue the war all the more intensively.

Moscow also points out that the “coalition of the willing” wants to send troops to Ukraine in the slipstream of a ceasefire - in order to be able to group its troops there safely from Russian attacks in the hope of freezing the conflict so that it can be reignited at a more favorable time in the future.

According to this view, a ceasefire would in fact only pave the way for a massive escalation, as Moscow has announced that Western troops in Ukraine would be a “legitimate target” and that a direct confrontation between Russia and the NATO states involved would therefore ensue once the ceasefire expires.

Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken has now openly confirmed that Moscow is absolutely right in its interpretation.

On the fringes of the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels on Tuesday, which was also attended by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, the Belgian said:

“There is a planning group of the Coalition of the Willing working under the leadership of the British and French. They are working out a plan and they are working very closely together. We are almost there. So I think things are moving in the right direction.”

And then he said the sentence that makes it clear that the “coalition of the willing” only wants to use a ceasefire as a window of opportunity to deploy its own troops in Ukraine:

“The moment there is a ceasefire, the coalition of the willing can immediately operate on Ukrainian soil.”

It is therefore “very important that we continue to support Ukraine and that Ukraine knows that it can count on Europe”, Francken continued.

The following day, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made it unmistakably clear that Moscow would not fall into the trap of the “coalition of the willing”, which has the potential to spark a third world war:

“Therefore, if they tell us now 'Let's make a ceasefire and then we'll see' - no, guys. We've already been through these stories, we don't want that anymore. Macron, Starmer, von der Leyen and other European figures who are hysterically demanding that the US join anti-Russian actions and tighten sanctions - that betrays them.”

Moscow therefore insists that negotiations must address the causes of the conflict in order to achieve lasting peace. A ceasefire can only be achieved within the framework of such a process.

Moscow is calling for Ukraine to renounce its NATO membership and disarmament and insists on the recognition of the four territories as part of the Russian Federation, which had voted for unification with Russia in a referendum.

However, Kiev underlined once again on Friday that it has no interest in genuine peace negotiations. Moscow's demands are out of the question, explained Mikhail Podolyak, the top advisor to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.

There is “no room for compromise”, said Podoljak, who called on the West to continue supplying weapons and imposing sanctions. “Peace will only come when Russia can no longer attack,” the advisor wrote on Telegram.