Europe to make security commitments to Ukraine next week, says Macron

In a meeting of the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ on Tuesday, European partners will make commitments to Ukraine’s security from Russia in case of any agreement that ends the ongoing war, French President Emmanuel Macron has announced.

After a meeting of national security advisors of member-states on Saturday, the leaders of the Coalition of the Willing led by the United Kingdom and France will meet on Tuesday. The group has more than 30 members.

“On January 6 in Paris, many European states and allies will make concrete commitments to protect Ukraine and ensure a just and lasting peace on our European continent,” said Macron in his New Year’s Eve address on Wednesday.

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UK and France agree to deploy troops in Ukraine after ceasefire with Russia European leaders to discuss Ukraine’s security guarantees at ‘Coalition of the Willing’ summit

Previously, Ukraine’s European partners, including the UK, France, and Germany, last month said there was “strong convergence” with the Donald Trump administration of the United States after talks in Berlin and stated a list of goals for both sides to work towards.

European partners have said their goals include commitments to support Ukraine’s military, the creation and deployment of a European-led peacekeeping force, and guarantees to use force if Ukraine came under attack again, according to Reuters.

While neither side has gone into the specifics so far, there have been reports that the Trump administration has offered Ukraine security guarantee modelled after Article 5 of Nato that underpins the collective defence principle of the alliance. Previously, European partners have stressed that any European peacekeeping force enforcing a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia must be supported by an American backstop.

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In negotiations so far, Ukraine has stressed that such security guarantees are a must for any agreement that ends the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Trump on Sunday at his Mar-a-Lago private home in Florida. While they described the meeting as productive, they did not make any decisive announcements towards the end of the war.

For months, Trump has been ramping up pressure on Ukraine to accept any arrangement and wrap the ongoing war. His infamous ‘28-point plan’ plan would have essentially meant a Ukrainian surrender and an end to sovereignty and nationhood. With European partners, Ukraine pushed back and the plan has been refined into much more agreeable 20-point plan. But contentious issues of territory are understood be not yet finalised.