Macron: 26 countries ready to send troops to Ukraine
BBC :
Twenty-six Western allies have formally committed to deploying troops “by land, sea or air” to Ukraine the day after a ceasefire deal is agreed, Emmanuel Macron has said.
After a summit of 35 countries dubbed the “Coalition of the Willing”, the French president said US support for their “reassurance force” would be finalised in the coming days.
President Donald Trump recently indicated that US backing could “probably” come in the form of air support, and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky said he had spoken to the US leader about “maximum protection for Ukraine’s skies”.
However, hopes of a deal to end the fighting have dimmed since Russia’s Vladimir Putin met Trump in Alaska last month.
Trump also said the EU should work with the US to halt imports of Russian oil and gas, to halt Russia’s “war machine by economic means”, according to an account of the phone-call from Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
The 27-member European Union has set a target of ending all gas and oil imports by the end of 2027.
A White House official pointed out that Russia had received €1.1bn (£954m; $1.3bn) in fuel sales from the EU in one year, although the true figure is far higher.
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said Western allies now had an “unbreakable pledge” to Ukraine, backed by the US, and had to press Russia to end the war, according to a Downing Street spokeswoman.
Few countries have openly promised to deploy troops on the ground in Ukraine in the event of a deal, and the US has already ruled out such a move. European diplomats have suggested that committing troops at this point would probably help Putin’s narrative against the West.
Moscow has made clear that no Western forces should be deployed to Ukraine and has insisted that it should be one of the countries acting as “guarantors” – an idea rejected by Kyiv and its allies.
In remarks published by Russian state media, the Kremlin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said: “Can Ukraine’s security guarantees be ensured and provided by foreign, especially European and American, military contingents? Definitely not, they cannot.”
Meanwhile, Russia was continuing to send troops into Ukraine despite the latest attempts to set ceasefire talks, Macron complained.
In the latest violence, two people clearing mines were killed in a Russian attack in northern Ukraine on Thursday.
Ukraine and its allies believe a ceasefire should be agreed before any attempt at securing a broader peace deal, although Russia disagrees.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said following the meeting that the first priority was to secure a ceasefire at a summit involving Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, and then provide “strong security guarantees”.Zelensky’s top officials held talks in Paris with US special envoy Steve Witkoff on Thursday.
More than three-and-a-half years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Putin said this week there was “a certain light at the end of the tunnel” and that “there are options for ensuring Ukraine’s security in the event the conflict ends”.
The prospect of a direct meeting involving Putin and Zelensky has become increasingly unlikely since it was suggested last month by President Trump.
Putin suggested this week Zelensky could come to Moscow for talks, an idea branded “unacceptable” by Kyiv. The Ukrainian leader said it was indication Russia did not really want the meeting to take place.
Nato chief Mark Rutte said on Thursday that Russia had no veto on Western troops being deployed to Ukraine: “Why are we interested in what Russia thinks about troops in Ukraine? It’s a sovereign country. It’s not for them to decide.”
Trump told CBS News on Wednesday that he remained committed to reaching a deal to end the war and said he continued to have a good relationship with both Putin and Zelensky.”I think we’re going to get it all straightened out,” he said.