German peacekeeping troops could be deployed to Ukraine to enforce a future ceasefire deal, the country’s foreign minister has suggested.

Annalena Baerbock said the “German side will support everything that serves peace in the future… with all its strength” as EU foreign ministers met in Brussels for talks on the war in Ukraine.

It was the first time that Berlin had raised the idea of German soldiers playing a peacekeeping role in Ukraine.

Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, later attempted to play down her comments, saying it was “out of the question that we would send troops or German soldiers to Ukraine in the current situation”.

But Mr Scholz has largely been acting as a lame duck since his ruling coalition collapsed last month, with no election until February.

Ms Baerbock cited “political and material security guarantees, Nato membership… troop withdrawal, territorial issues, reconstruction and dealing with sanctions” as potential factors in a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire.