Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday flatly rejected Western proposals to deploy a multinational “reassurance force” in Ukraine, warning that any foreign troops sent would be treated as “legitimate targets.”

His remarks came a day after French President Emmanuel Macron announced that 26 countries had pledged to send forces “by land, sea or air” to secure Ukraine the moment a ceasefire is reached. Macron, speaking after a Paris summit, did not name the countries involved but said the deployment would act as a safeguard against “any new major aggression.”

Putin moved quickly to undercut the initiative. “Any troops deployed to Ukraine would be legitimate targets,” he said, stressing that this applied even now, despite there being no immediate plans for deployment.

The French-led push comes amid fading hopes for a ceasefire. Last month’s Alaska summit between Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump had raised expectations of progress toward a potential meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. But on Friday, Putin dismissed the prospect. “I am ready for contact with Zelensky,” he said, “but I do not see much point … it is nearly impossible to reach agreement with the Ukrainian side on key issues.”

Zelensky, however, welcomed the Paris commitments, calling them “the first concrete step” toward security guarantees. He said thousands of foreign troops could eventually be deployed, though it was too early to discuss specifics.

The U.S. has yet to detail its role. Trump recently hinted that American support would “probably” come in the form of air power. Zelensky said he had spoken with Trump about “maximum protection for Ukraine’s skies.”

Trump has publicly maintained what he called a “very good dialogue” with Putin. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday praised Trump’s efforts as “constructive,” while condemning what he called Europe’s “outrageous efforts” to prolong the conflict.

The so-called “Coalition of the Willing” — led by France and the UK — has been intensifying work on military and security guarantees for Kyiv in the event of a peace agreement. Macron emphasized the reassurance force would not be deployed at the front lines and was “not intended to wage war against Russia.”

Still, with Moscow dismissing both the Paris plan and prospects for negotiations, hopes of halting the war appear as distant as ever.