PARIS: Over two dozen countries have pledged to take part in a force to be deployed in Ukraine after any peace accord with Russia, aiming to deter Moscow from ever again attacking its neighbour, French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Thursday.
A “reassurance force” for Ukraine is a key pillar of the security guarantees a coalition of mainly European countries want to offer to Ukraine if the war ends via a peace deal or a ceasefire.
However there is also growing concern that Russian President Vladimir Putin is currently showing no interest in a peace accord, with alarm intensifying after his high-profile visit to Beijing this week.
European leaders spoke to US President Donald Trump via video conference after the summit in Paris of the so-called coalition of the willing, hosted by Macron and attended by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Some European leaders attended in person and others, like UK premier Keir Starmer, remotely.
The meeting is a new push led by Macron to show that Europe can act independently of Washington after Trump upended US foreign policy and launched direct talks with Putin after returning to the White House.
The United States was represented by Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, who also met with Zelensky separately.
Europe has been under pressure to step up its response over three and a half years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
“We have today 26 countries who have formally committed — some others have not yet taken a position — to deploy as a ‘reassurance force’ troops in Ukraine, or be present on the ground, in the sea, or in the air,” Macron told reporters alongside Zelensky.
Zelensky hailed the move. “I think that today, for the first time in a long time, this is the first such serious concrete step,” he said.
Macron added: “This force does not seek to wage any war on Russia. It is a force to guarantee peace.”
The troops would not be deployed “on the front line” but aim to “prevent any new major aggression”, the French president said.
He added that another major pillar was undertaking a “regeneration” of the Ukrainian army so that it can “not just resist a new attack but dissuade Russia from a new aggression”.
Macron said the United States was being “very clear” about its willingness to participate in security guarantees for Ukraine.
During the summit Starmer said it was necessary “to go even further to apply pressure on Putin to secure a cessation of hostilities”, a Downing Street spokeswoman said.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also urged more pressure but remained cautious about the scope of involvement.
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