German foreign minister says no German troops in 'hot war' in Ukraine

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock echoed Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday in calling the current debate about possible European peacekeeping troops in Ukraine premature.

"No soldiers will be sent into this hot war," Baerbock told public broadcaster ZDF.

The debate in European capitals was triggered by US President Donald Trump's unilateral announcement of peace talks over Ukraine with Russia, and remarks from Trump and other senior US officials that US troops would not be involved in securing any resulting peace deal in Ukraine.

Baerbock acknowledged on Tuesday that "peacekeeping is a European task" and said any deal over Ukraine cannot be negotiated without Ukrainian and European involvement.

But Baerbock called it far too premature to debate the willingness to deploy troops to Ukraine before talks have even begun.

Scholz made similar comments after a meeting of European leaders to discuss possible contributions to a Ukraine peace deal in Paris on Monday that was called by French President Emmanuel Macron.

On Tuesday, top US and Russian representatives met for talks in Saudi Arabia, without any participation of Ukrainian or European representatives.

The talks in Riyadh were first and foremost an opportunity for the US and Russia to make contact, Baerbock said: "We should not now make the huge mistake of also doing (Russian President Vladimir) Putin a favour by making these talks bigger than they actually are."

When asked whether Germany could accept the negotiations taking place without Ukraine and the Europeans, Baerbock replied flatly: "No."

But Baerbock added that Europe must be self-confident, clear and stand up for its interests.

"Even if everyone's heart is burning here, we have to keep a very cool head," she said.

At the Paris summit, there were divisions over whether European countries would be willing to contribute troops to a possible peacekeeping force to secure any ceasefire deal.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer signalled his willingness to send British troops, and urged others to join, even as Scholz described the entire debate as "irritating" and "completely premature."

Macron made waves months ago by suggesting French and European troops could be deployed to Ukraine.