France is pushing from Madrid to send peacekeepers to Ukraine.

MadridA team from France and the United Kingdom will travel to Ukraine next week to advance the deployment of peacekeeping troops. This was announced by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot before participating in Madrid in the fourth meeting of the G5+, a forum created in November to address European security and the evolution of the war in Ukraine, which includes the European Commission, Germany, Poland, France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Ukraine. This time, Madrid was able to boast of hosting the summit at a key moment in the negotiations. However, it is known that there are certain discrepancies between some of the countries, such as on the issue from the dispatch of peacekeeping troopsFor Spain, this debate is "premature," as it is for Poland, as stated by its Foreign Minister, Radoslaw Sikorski.

"In this meeting, we must address the preparation of the guarantees we can provide once peace is achieved so that it is fair and lasting," Barrot stressed in statements to the media before the start of the meeting. "We do not yet have a peace to defend. If Ukraine asks for guarantees, the international community will decide how to provide them," his Polish counterpart had said earlier. Albares did not refer to this, although it is known that for Spain it is too early to discuss the need to send troops. The common message has been to pressure Vladimir Putin to accept the ceasefire proposed by Volodymyr Zelensky. "Russia is playing games and not making peace," denounced the High Representative for Foreign Affairs of the European Commission, Kaja Kallas, who also called on the United States to "put more pressure" on the Kremlin.

The EU also wants to tighten the siege against Putin and has been talking for some time about using the interests offrozen assets in Russia to continue helping UkraineAmong other issues, Albares explained that Madrid is facing war reparations, presenting Madrid as the "diplomatic capital of Europe." However, the EU is working hard to play a role in the peace negotiations in Ukraine, which, for the moment, is reserved for the United States and Russia. "Russia is delaying the ceasefire and is ignoring this request. Europe's voice must be added to the call for a ceasefire," the Spanish Foreign Minister claimed.

Defense spending

Beyond troop deployments, Spain's partners are also keeping an eye on increased military spending. Spain, for the moment, has only committed to raising it to 2% of GDP. British Foreign Secretary David Lammy has already set a target of 2.5% for 2027 and 3% thereafter. In contrast, Poland's Sikorski declined to touch the issue, simply stating that the NATO members' agreement to reach 2% "has been going on for a long time" and that "it is a fact that the countries closest to Russia are the ones that invest the most." "And one can understand why," he added.