French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday is to host European leaders including President Volodymyr Zelensky for a summit aimed at boosting Ukrainian security ahead of any potential ceasefire with Russia.
The meeting is seeking to set out what security guarantees Europe can offer Ukraine once a ceasefire deal is agreed, including the possible deployment of military forces by a so-called “coalition of the willing”.
Twenty-seven heads of state and government are due to attend the Paris summit, which is to get underway with their arrival at the Elysee Palace from 0800 GMT. Macron is due to give a news conference in the afternoon summing up the discussions.
Key NATO member Turkey, currently under scrutiny due to protests at home, is due to be represented by Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz.
Speaking alongside Zelensky in Paris on Wednesday ahead of the talks, Macron said this was now a “decisive phase to put an end to the war of aggression” waged by Russia against Ukraine as the United States under Donald Trump reaches out to Moscow in search of a deal.
Macron also announced a new French two billion euro ($2.2 billion) military aid package for Ukraine, with Paris ready to rapidly ship existing hardware from its stocks.
He said Russia must accept a 30-day ceasefire offered by Ukraine “without preconditions”, accusing Moscow of still showing a “desire for war” and hailing Kyiv for having “taken the risk of peace”.
He accused Russia of making “new conditions” and not responding to the ceasefire offer.
“Ukraine has clearly expressed to the United States its agreement to a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire, even though it is the victim of the aggression,” said Macron.
“We expect the same commitment from Russia,” he added.
Zelensky said he was expecting “strong decisions” from the meeting on Thursday, which was also due to be attended by the likes of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
“Now is definitely not the time to reduce pressure on Russia or weaken our unity for the sake of peace,” he said.
Zelensky also accused Russia of dragging out the conflict despite the American peace overtures.
“Russia wants this war to continue. It is dragging it out. We need to put pressure on Russia so that the war ends indeed,” he said.
Once a settlement is agreed, one key element could be sending European forces to ensure Russia does not attack again.
Zelensky said that it was too early to discuss specific roles of future European forces in Ukraine, after a key aide, Igor Zhovkva, told AFP in Paris that Kyiv needed a robust European presence and not just peacekeepers.
The Ukrainian leader said the question now was about “who will be ready” to take part in such missions. “It’s too early to say,” he added, referring to what role the forces could play.
Macron stressed that European forces would not be in Ukraine to fight. “It is a pacificist approach.”
But the French president also outlined how the situation on the ground could look after a ceasefire, with a dividing line and the question will be “what the mechanism” will be to monitor the peace.
A European force could be “a card in the hand of the Ukrainians” that would “dissuade the Russians” from launching another attack.
But European soldiers would not be on the front line, he said.
AFP
