PARIS — U.S. and Ukrainian officials will continue negotiations on security guarantees for Ukraine after a high-level meeting in Paris produced what leaders called significant breakthroughs, including a U.S.-led truce monitoring mechanism and plans for a European multinational force to deploy in Ukraine once a ceasefire with Russia is agreed.
The pledges emerged from the largest gathering yet of the “Coalition of the Willing,” where representatives from 35 countries — including 27 heads of state or government — sought to align on postwar security architecture. Officials said the measures are designed to cement a durable end to the war sparked by Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion, but they will only take effect after a ceasefire. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intentions remain unclear.
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French President Emmanuel Macron said the United States would lead a truce monitoring mission with European participation. He announced the creation of a U.S.-Ukraine-Coalition coordination cell in Paris and joined Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in signing a declaration of intent that foresees Britain, France and other European allies deploying troops on Ukrainian territory after a ceasefire. A draft that included a U.S. commitment to “support” the European-led force “in case of a new attack” by Russia did not appear in the final communique.
Macron said France could send “several thousand” troops to Ukraine after the war. He called the package “robust security guarantees for a solid and lasting peace” and described “operational convergence” among allies, including the United States. The guarantees, he said, are intended to ensure “a peace agreement can never mean a Ukrainian surrender” or open the door to a renewed Russian threat.
Zelensky said the talks identified which countries would take the lead on security and reconstruction and clarified what forces are needed and how they would be managed. “These are not just words. There is concrete content,” he said, while adding that the most difficult unresolved issue is the “territorial question,” a reference to Russia’s demand that Ukraine cede the eastern Donbas region. Russia currently occupies about 20% of Ukraine and has repeatedly rejected any NATO presence on the ground to monitor a ceasefire.
U.S. envoys also pointed to progress. One, flanked by Jared Kushner, said allies had “largely finished” agreeing security guarantees “so that the people of Ukraine know that when this ends, it ends forever.” He added that “land options” are the most “critical issue” and expressed hope for compromises. The envoy said President Donald Trump believes “this carnage has to stop.” Kushner said, “This does not mean that we will make peace, but peace would not be possible without the progress that was made here today.”
Starmer said Britain and France would establish “military hubs” across Ukraine once a ceasefire is in place and “build protected facilities for weapons and military equipment to support Ukraine’s defensive needs.” He warned that “we can only get to a peace deal if Putin is ready to make compromises,” adding that recent Russian actions “only harden our resolve.” A French foreign ministry spokesperson said G7 foreign ministers “welcomed progress” on the guarantees during a call.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, whose government has been wary of stationing troops inside Ukraine, said German forces could contribute to a ceasefire monitoring mission but would be based in a neighboring country. “We will certainly have to make compromises,” he said, cautioning that “we will not achieve textbook diplomatic solutions.” Fighting has shown little sign of easing in what has become Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.
The Paris meeting unfolded amid strains over wider U.S. policy. European officials were unsettled by the seizure by U.S. forces of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a Putin ally, as well as Trump’s claim that the self-governing Danish territory of Greenland should become part of the United States. Macron told French television, “I cannot imagine a scenario in which the United States of America would be placed in a position to violate Danish sovereignty.”
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
