European leaders to meet in Paris to work on 'coalition of the willing' for Ukraine's defence

European defence leaders will gather in France this week to work out the modalities of the “coalition of the willing” for Ukraine’s defence.

Following a summit of European leaders regarding the situation in Ukraine, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced earlier this month that a “ coalition of the willing” nations in Ukraine will enforce peace in Ukraine whenever a peace deal is reached.

To figure out the specifics of the plan, European defence chiefs and defence ministers will meet in Paris on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to i newspaper.

British Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin will co-chair a meeting of European defence chiefs in Paris on Tuesday with his French counterpart Thierry Burkhard and British Defence Secretary John Healey will hold talks on Wednesday with the defence ministers of France, Germany, Italy, and Poland, as per the report.

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Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron have taken a lead in preparing plans to enforce peace in Ukraine and support Ukraine’s defence as US President Donald Trump is withdrawing from Europe. Since assuming office, in a reversal of generations of bipartisan US policy, Trump has abandoned European allies to partner with Russian President Vladmimir Putin and has pressured Ukraine to accept his terms. European leaders have maintained that the relationship with the United States can still be salvaged and have offered to do the “heavy lifting” in supporting Ukraine.

British-French plan could be presented to Trump by weekend

Following the talks in Paris on Tuesday and Wednesday, the British-French plan for European security guarantees for Ukraine could be presented to Trump by the end of the week, according to i newspaper.

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While the specifics are not yet public, Starmer and Macron have proposed a peacekeeping plan for Ukraine in which up to 30,000 European soldiers will be deployed in Ukraine with air and naval assets. While US personnel will not be deployed under the plan, they have sought a US supporting role.

So far, around 20 nations have offered to join the proposed coalition to support Ukraine’s defence.

The i reported a British government source as saying that the efforts are directed at “building the broadest possible coalition at this stage”.

The source added that the talks were a “positive show of continued momentum”. They further said that United States was genuinely interested in what Europe could offer to help preserve peace.

“It’s clear that the US do want to see a concrete, tangible offer on the table,” said the source.

ALSO READ: Europe’s intervention in Trump-Zelenskyy spat is not about bypassing US in Ukraine talks

Besides the United Kingdom and France, Australia, Ireland, Luxembourg, Belgium, and Turkey have indicated they would be prepared to join the peacekeeping force for Ukraine. Canada, Denmark, and Sweden have also not ruled out being part of the force.