"Yesterday, in a discussion of a group of countries convened by President Macron, various options were discussed as to what Western countries should do more to ensure Ukraine's defence capability and to develop it in the future to the point where all the objectives of the Zelensky 10-point plan are achieved," Budrys told reporters at the Presidency on Tuesday.
"I can assure you that there was a consensus that the priority at the moment for Ukraine is the supply of arms and what is most needed - ammunition, ammunition, ammunition," he emphasised.
Mr Budrys stressed that the idea that the Western allies could send troops to Ukraine had been discussed before.
"The fact that the French president has taken a certain initiative to politically push and once again shake the whole machine (...) is a new circumstance," the adviser noted.
"Those conversations have taken place before," he assured.
However, Budrys stressed there are no concrete decisions or resolutions. Therefore, discussions continue what role Western troops deployed to Ukraine could play. Earlier, the Minister of National Defence, Arvydas Anušauskas, assured that only training missions were being discussed. According to Mr Budrys, this is one possible model.
"There can be various models and possible solutions. I can assure you that there is no particular ideas", he said.
Budrys noted that the National Defence Council (VGT) has also considered sending troops to Ukraine. However, he made it clear that if such a decision were to be taken, there would have to be extensive consultations with allies.
"As with military support, as with many things, financial support, humanitarian support - we are talking, coordinating with other countries", he assured, noting that Lithuania has a mandate to send training operations to Ukraine.
However, the adviser reiterated that the primary focus should be the transfer of ammunition. This, he said, is what Kyiv is asking for most. Budrys welcomed that the discussions in Paris on Monday aimed to find real solutions, not just regretting that Europe failed to fulfil its promises to Ukraine on military aid.
"The main tool needed today, and the one needed yesterday, is ammunition", he reiterated.
ELTA recalls that on Monday, on his way to a meeting of European leaders in Paris, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico hinted that some Western countries were ready to send troops to Ukraine. However, the politician did not name specific countries but warned that this could increase the risk of an escalation of the conflict.
For his part, French leader Emmanuel Macron stated that he would not rule out the deployment of French ground forces in Ukraine. There are no non-negotiables, he said, to ensure that Russia fails to achieve victory in Ukraine. The French President noted that no decisions had been taken at the Paris meeting he had initiated on the redeployment of ground forces. However, he insisted that each country could make its own decisions on deploying troops in the future.
However, on Tuesday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg assured the Alliance has no plans to send troops to Ukraine.
