Europe and the US are united agree to provide Ukraine with solid security guarantees at Paris meeting
Europeans and Americans agreed on Tuesday in Paris to provide Ukraine with solid security guarantees, including the deployment of a US-backed multinational force, in the event of a ceasefire with Russia, which remains elusive.
The “Alliance of the Willing”, which includes the leaders of most European countries, as well as Canada, NATO and the European Union, met in the French capital in the presence of President Donald Trump’s envoys to Ukraine, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
The meeting led to the signing of a declaration of intent centered on deployment of a multinational force after a ceasefire in Ukraine.
The force, made up of the coalition of willing countries, will be led by Europe and will have the support of the United States, according to a final statement published by the French presidency.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the deployment would take the form of a guarantee the day after the ceasefire, praising “significant progress”.
The statement acknowledges for the first time an operational rapprochement between the coalition, Ukraine and the United States with solid security guarantees.
The French president stressed that these security guarantees are the basis to ensure that no peace agreement means the surrender of Ukraine, and that no peace agreement poses a new threat to Ukraine.
Macron said in a statement to France 2 that it’s possible to deploy thousands of French peacekeepers in Ukraine, after a ceasefire with Russia was signed.
Although the Americans have confirmed their desire to provide support, the United States hasn’t signed the declaration, and the frameworks for its military commitment aren’t yet clear.
The joint declaration, signed nearly four years after Russia’s invasion began in February 2022, includes monitoring mechanisms for a US-led ceasefire, Macron reported.
Amid tensions between Europe and the United States over Greenland and Venezuela, US envoy Steve Witkoff, who attended the Paris talks, spoke of significant progress.
Alongside Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, he added that allies have largely accomplished agreeing on security guarantees for Ukraine so that the Ukrainian people know that this war will end forever.
Witkoff stressed that land options would be the most sensitive issue, adding that “we hope that we can reach some compromises on this”.
Kushner said Ukraine would have strong deterrence and real safety nets to ensure that what happened isn’t repeated if it reaches a final peace deal.
However, the final text of the declaration didn’t mention the US contribution on the intelligence and logistical levels, in particular the US commitment to provide support to the force in the event of an attack.
“The important thing is that the alliance today has basic documents, which go beyond just words,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, praising concrete content that shows a commitment to working for real security.
“Countries have been identified that are ready to lead the implementation of security guarantees on land, air and sea and for the reconstruction of Ukraine,” according to Zelensky.
The Europeans stressed that the ball is now in Russia’s court, as the Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said before leaving for Paris: “We all want to take more realistic measures… But of course this requires goodwill on the part of the Russian aggressor as well,” while the Kremlin is absolutely opposed to any Western military deployment in Ukraine.
Moscow is clinging to its terms, particularly Ukraine’s complete abandonment of the industrial and mineral-rich Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, including territory still under the control of Kyiv’s military.
The Ukrainian president recalled that some ideas, including the demilitarization of disputed areas, were still on the table, and suggested that they should be discussed at the level of commanders.
The operational frameworks of the multinational force aren’t yet clear, while several States are cautious about their contribution.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reiterated that she had informed Ukraine’s European allies and US envoys that she would refuse to send Italian troops in line with Kyiv’s security guarantees in the event of an agreement with Russia.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, whose country was wary of involving German soldiers in a multinational force, said German troops might join to monitor the ceasefire in Ukraine, but would be stationed in a neighboring country.
On the diplomatic front, the Europeans seem to have avoided loud condemnation of the US military operation in Venezuela that resulted in the arrest of President Nicolás Maduro, in order not to disturb the atmosphere of the talks aimed at stopping the war in Ukraine.
On Ukraine, the United States hasn’t joined the “Alliance of the Willing,” but its support for Kyiv remains crucial, including in persuading other allies to join.
But in late December, a meeting between Zelensky and Trump and contacts between the US president and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin made no progress on a key knot: Kyiv’s ceding territory claimed by Moscow.
