France urges US to back Europe on Ukraine guarantees

PARIS: France has said that Europe is ready to stand by Ukraine with long-term security guarantees once the war ends — but it now wants the United States to step up and do its part. 

President Emmanuel Macron’s office said on Tuesday that Kyiv’s European allies are prepared to contribute to security guarantees for Ukraine after any peace deal with Russia.

Ahead of a meeting between Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and allies in Paris on Thursday, an Elysee Palace official said, “We are ready,” adding that Europeans now hope to secure “the support of the Americans to guarantee Ukraine’s security.”

A so-called Coalition of the Willing, made up of around 30 countries, intends to support Ukraine’s military and could potentially deploy some of its own soldiers once a ceasefire is reached. The aim of any deployment would be to deter future Russian aggression.

According to a French diplomatic source, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot and his US counterpart Marco Rubio, in a telephone call on Tuesday, “stressed the good existing cooperation in the Coalition of the Willing” ahead of Thursday’s meeting.

A US State Department spokesman said the two ministers “agreed to continue cooperation in diplomatic efforts to bring the Russia-Ukraine war to an end through a negotiated settlement with measures in place to secure a lasting peace.”

Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will jointly chair Thursday’s meeting.

An Elysee official said: “We now have enough contributions to be able to say to the Americans that we are ready to take our responsibilities as long as they take on theirs — meaning giving European partners a ‘backstop’.”

That backstop could involve several areas, including intelligence, logistical support, and communications. But US President Donald Trump has ruled out any American troops on the ground.

Trump has so far failed in his attempt to organise a summit between President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky, after hosting the Russian leader in Alaska last month.

On Tuesday, Trump said he was “very disappointed” in Putin for not moving towards a peace deal on Ukraine.

The United States will send a representative to Thursday’s meeting, Macron’s office confirmed, without giving details.