 "France's President Emmanuel Macron (R) and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky leave after a press conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris on March 26, 2025. AFP")
European leaders on Thursday unanimously agreed not to lift sanctions on Russia and said that they should instead ramp up efforts to defend Ukraine in the war. At the Paris Summit hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, France and Britain said that they would send “reassurance forces” to Ukraine after any peace is achieved.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also attended the meeting where his European allies agreed on a coordinated policy after Donald Trump shocked Europe by opening direct talks with the Kremlin.
The meeting of over two dozen heads of state and government set out to agree what security guarantees Europe can offer Ukraine once there is agreement on a ceasefire, including the possible deployment of military forces by a so-called “coalition of the willing”.
‘US should have sanctioned Russia’
Earlier this month, Russia rejected a 30-day ceasefire proposal by the US after Ukraine accepted its terms.
Zelenskyy on Thursday said that Washington should have imposed sanctions on Russia after it rejected the ceasefire plan. After recalling the Oval office spat between him and US President Donald Trump, Zelenskyy added, “Okay, let’s just make a pause and not just tell America, advise America what to do. They have their own people who can advise.”
Talking about Europe’s position in the war, the Ukrainian leader said, “Europe can defend itself. We have to prove it,” adding that “everybody understood and understands that today Russia does not want any kind of peace.”
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As well as boosting Ukraine’s own armed forces, a key pillar of ensuring security and preventing further Russian invasions could be to deploy European troops to Ukraine, although until now it has been far from clear how this could happen.
Macron said after the summit France and Britain were leading efforts to send a “reassurance force” to Ukraine after any end to the fighting.
“It does not have unanimity today, but we do not need unanimity to do this,” he added, saying a Franco-British delegation would head to Ukraine in the coming days for talks.
“There will be a reassurance force with several European countries who will deploy” to Ukraine, he said.
With inputs from agencies