European countries are prepared to offer security guarantees to Ukraine once a peace deal between Kiev and Moscow is signed, French President Emmanuel Macron has said.
He made the comments after months of debate within NATO about possible models for post-conflict Ukraine, which have coincided with US President Donald Trump’s renewed efforts to mediate a deal with Russia.
“We Europeans are ready to offer security guarantees to Ukraine and its people on the day a peace deal is signed,” Macron said following a meeting with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky in Paris on Wednesday.
“The contributions prepared, documented, and confirmed this afternoon at the level of defense ministers, in an extremely confidential manner, allow me to state that the preparatory work is complete,” he added, without specifying the details.
“We are ready for a robust peace and a lasting peace for Ukraine and for Europeans,” Macron said.
Zelensky expressed confidence that “firm security guarantees” would be agreed upon during the meeting of Ukraine’s backers, known as the Coalition of the Willing, on Thursday.
Kiev has been pressing the West to provide guarantees that could serve as a substitute for NATO’s collective defense after the US effectively blocked Ukraine’s bid to join the bloc.
Several European nations, including France and the UK, have voiced their readiness to deploy peacekeepers, while Germany recently said it has no such plans. Trump has ruled out sending US troops to Ukraine.
Russia has repeatedly warned that it would not tolerate NATO countries’ soldiers on Ukrainian soil, even under the guise of a peacekeeping force. President Vladimir Putin has listed an end to Western military aid to Kiev as one of the conditions for a ceasefire.
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