BERLIN

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Monday it was not the right time to discuss sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine, emphasizing that no discussions should proceed without Kyiv's involvement.

At the conclusion of emergency talks with European leaders in Paris, Scholz told reporters that European countries would maintain their support for Ukraine and underlined that Ukrainians must be part of any peace negotiations.

Asked about Germany's stance on security guarantees for Ukraine, including potential peacekeeping troops, Scholz responded: “It is completely premature and the completely wrong time to have this discussion now.”

“I am frankly quite irritated by these debates,” he said. “People are talking over the heads of Ukrainians about the outcome of peace talks that haven’t even started, that Ukraine hasn’t agreed to, and that weren't even on the table.“

He highlighted the uncertainty of the prospects for peace talks and their potential outcome.

“This is therefore an inappropriate debate at the wrong time and about the wrong topic. We are not yet at peace, but in the middle of a war waged brutally by Russia,” he said.

Scholz also addressed recent discussions on the future of NATO following the return of Donald Trump to the US presidency, stressing that European allies and Washington must always act together on security.

“There must be no division of security and responsibility between Europe and the United States,” Scholz said. “NATO is based on the fact that we always act together and take risks together, thereby ensuring our security. This must not be called into question.”

On military spending, Scholz advocated more flexible EU spending regulations and proposed relaxing EU debt rules to prevent penalties for countries that increase defense spending — even when their borrowing levels exceed bloc-wide regulatory requirements.

Leaders from several major European countries gathered in Paris on Monday at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss transatlantic relations, the situation in Ukraine, possible peace negotiations, and security in Europe.

US-European relations deteriorated this month after Trump initiated direct discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin about Ukraine peace talks without European involvement. At the weekend Munich Security Conference, Keith Kellogg, Trump's special envoy for Russia and Ukraine, confirmed that Europeans would not be invited to planned US-Russia talks on Ukraine peace.

Adding to the tension, US Defense Secretary Hegseth suggested that European countries, not the US, should provide peacekeeping troops to Ukraine. Hegseth specifically stated that any such deployment should be non-NATO and would not be covered under Article 5 (on NATO’s collective defense), stressing that US troops would not be part of any security guarantee arrangements.