Only some of Ukraine’s allies want to participate in the country’s proposed troop deployment, according to French President Emmanuel Macron, and they did not all support it.
After wrapping up a summit on strengthening Kyiv’s hand and its military, he said, “It is not unanimous.” “We don’t need unanimity to achieve it.”
Macron predicted that the initiative would be continued with a “reassurance force” with a number of nations, along with France and the United Kingdom, which are in charge.
On Thursday, Macron met with NATO and EU leaders from nearly 30 nations in Paris. As a result of increasing diplomatic pressure from US President Donald Trump to put an end to the more than three-year conflict, the summit comes at a crucial moment in what has been a multi-year conflict.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, the NATO secretary-general, and vice president Turkey were just a few people who showed up.
Reassurance factor
Macron claimed that the “reassurance force” was not intended to be a frontline force, a peacekeeper, or a military unit that would serve as a substitute for the Ukrainian army.
He emphasized that not all of Ukraine’s European allies would be represented in the force, with some states “having the capacity” and others “reluctant” due to the “political context.”
Conversations between the Franco-British delegations would turn to locations for such a force.
He claimed that it would “deter any potential Russian aggression.”
Macron stated that the summit convened to “co-pilot” Europe’s “coalition of action for stable and lasting peace” (co-pilot) strategy.
Macron said the UK-France delegation would also discuss the “tomorrow’s Ukraine army,” stressing the importance of a “strong Ukrainian army, well-equipped for the day after.”
On Wednesday, Macron pledged to provide additional 2 billion euros ($2.16 billion) in French military support, including missiles, warplanes, and air defense equipment. On Thursday, Zelenskyy predicted that other partners would make announcements regarding aid packages.
Russia presented conditions during the meeting, which comes days after the US announced it had signed separate agreements for a ceasefire with Moscow and Kyiv.
In addition, they demanded that Russian state agricultural lender Rosselkhozbank be made to pay no attention to its connection to SWIFT’s global payment system.
Rosselkhozbank can only be reinstated when Russia withdraws its troops from Ukraine, according to the European Union, which ejected Rosselkhozbank from SWIFT on Wednesday.
The summit format aims to elicit Europe’s participation in any negotiations aimed at bringing an end to the conflict. French officials say the gathering’s findings will be communicated to the US administration despite the absence of the US.
Source: Aljazeera
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