European leaders confirmed their long-term support for Ukraine at the «Coalition of the Willing» summit in Paris on Thursday, but seemed to make little progress on what role they could play in providing security guarantees in the event of a peace agreement with Moscow, writes Reuters.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that leaders agreed on the need to provide more support to Ukraine to ensure it has the strongest position for any peace process, without specifying how exactly this is planned to be done.
European efforts to create security mechanisms in Ukraine are shifting from sending troops to other alternatives, as they face political and logistical constraints, as well as the prospect that Russia and the US will oppose their plans.
Despite this, French President Emmanuel Macron, who participated in the conference, stated that several countries agreed to implement the Franco-British idea of creating what he called «security forces», which would be deployed in the event of a peace agreement to deter future Russian aggression. French President Emmanuel Macron suggests that the West send «deterrence forces» to Ukraine. This proposal could become part of security guarantees.
«These will be forces from several states, as there is no unanimity on this issue, which will be located in predetermined strategic locations with Ukrainians... This will be a security guarantee and will have a deterrent effect against potential Russian aggression», — Macron is quoted by The Guardian. At the same time, the French president noted that these deterrence forces «should not replace peacekeeping forces on the contact line or a strong and powerful Ukrainian army».
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and his Estonian counterpart Hanno Pevkur expressed readiness to help ensure peace in Ukraine by deploying their countries' troops on its territory. «I cannot imagine a situation where Germany would not participate in what will result from negotiations on a ceasefire or even peace», — Pistorius is quoted by Politico.
President Macron, following the summit, noted that among the «Coalition of the Willing» there is agreement that any future security guarantees should be based on supporting the combat capability of the Ukrainian army. France and the UK will send a joint military delegation to Ukraine in the coming days to work with the Armed Forces of Ukraine to help them plan for the future, writes Sky News.
Macron also noted that today it was decided to instruct foreign ministers to prepare proposals on how to monitor the ceasefire regime. In three weeks, they will have to present the relevant proposals.
Deterrence forces will provide support in «strategic» areas, such as central Ukraine and along the Dnieper, to deter Russia after the end of the war.
At the summit, it was agreed that premature easing of sanctions against Russia would be a strategic mistake. «It is absolutely clear that Russia is trying to buy time, playing games, and we must not be deceived, — said Starmer after the meeting. — Now is not the time to lift sanctions, quite the opposite». According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, lifting sanctions now would be «a catastrophe for diplomacy».
Macron, after the meeting, stated that the allies discussed, on the contrary, the possibility of tightening sanctions, particularly against the so-called shadow fleet of Russia.
The meeting in Paris took place a few days after talks in Riyadh, which the US delegation held with representatives of Russia and Ukraine. Following these talks, a moratorium on strikes on energy facilities was announced, as well as a possible truce in the Black Sea. However, Russia set a number of conditions for such a truce, including easing sanctions against its banking and food sectors. The US expressed readiness to facilitate this, but the EU states that they are not ready to ease sanctions now.
Photo: Reuters