Paris — European leaders reaffirmed their long-term support for Ukraine during a summit in Paris on Thursday, but appeared to make little progress on what role they might play in providing security guarantees if a peace deal is struck with Russia.
The summit is the third of what France and Britain have called the “coalition of the willing”, reflecting concern among Europeans that the US no longer represents a firm bulwark of support for Ukraine in its three-year-old fight against Russia.
US President Donald Trump, in office since January 20, has said he wants to broker a swift end to the war. But a series of bilateral talks between the Washington and the warring sides has yet to yield a significant diminution of hostilities.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said leaders had agreed on the need for more support for Ukraine to ensure it was in the strongest possible position for any peace process, without elaborating. He also said he would like to see a peace deal developing “in days and weeks, not months”.
European efforts to create security arrangements for Ukraine have been shifting away from sending troops to other options as they face political and logistical constraints, and the prospect of Russia and the US opposing their plans.
Even so, co-host French President Emmanuel Macron said a number of countries had agreed to pursue a Franco-British idea for what he called a “reassurance force” that would be deployed in the event of a peace deal to deter future Russian aggression.
There are few signs at this stage that the US would offer its backing.
“It was not unanimous today, as we all know, and we don’t need unanimity,” Macron told a press conference.
Military delegations will travel to Ukraine in the coming days to start work on how the contours of a strong Ukrainian army in the long term would look, he added.
Europe is under pressure from Trump to take on a much greater share of the security burden in its own backyard, but the continent’s anaemic economic growth and high levels of debt have complicated their task.
Macron spoke with Trump before the meeting, the French presidency said. While the US was not present, French officials say the outcome of the gathering will be shared with Washington.
Sanctions remain
There was broad agreement at the summit that it would be a strategic error to prematurely ease sanctions on Russia — a condition President Vladimir Putin has made for a Black Sea ceasefire to take effect.
“There was absolute clarity that Russia is trying to delay, is playing games, and we have to be absolutely clear about that,” Starmer said after the meeting, standing next to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
There was “complete clarity that now is not the time for lifting of sanctions, quite the contrary”, Starmer added.
Zelensky, who agreed earlier this month to proceed with ceasefire talks to ensure a resumption of US aid and intelligence sharing that were briefly suspended by Trump, said heavier sanctions on Russia were required.
France pledged €2bn in fresh military aid to Ukraine before the gathering of about 30 leaders.
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova accused France and Britain on Thursday of hatching plans for “military intervention in Ukraine” under the guise of a peacekeeping mission. Such an intervention could lead to a direct military clash between Russia and Nato, she added.
Highlighting different views among Ukraine’s partners, Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani reiterated late on Wednesday his country’s opposition to any such force.
"[We are] not sending troops on a mission unless they are part of the UN, [this] is the only condition for us to deploy military personnel” in Ukraine, Tajani said.
Poland has previously said it would not put boots on the ground in Ukraine, while Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on Thursday it was “premature” to discuss sending European troops to Ukraine before the conditions of any ceasefire are known.
Update: March 27 2025
This story has been updated with new information.
Reuters
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