Macron confirms that a European peacekeeping force will be deployed in Ukraine but admits there is no "unanimity"

ParisFrance and Britain will lead a European peacekeeping mission to Ukraine to ensure Russia complies the ceasefire when a peace agreement is concludedFrench President Emmanuel Macron confirmed this Thursday at the end of the summit held in Paris with around thirty leaders, mostly European, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. However, Macron admitted that there is no consensus to move forward with the mission and only the armies of "some" countries will participate. "There is no unanimity," he acknowledged. "Some states do not have the capacity to participate. In others, it is the political context that does not allow them," the French president explained.

According to Macron, in the coming weeks, military officials will begin to outline the mission that will be deployed "in strategic locations" in Ukraine, a mission that Macron now refuses to call "a peace mission" and prefers to call it a "guarantee force." Given the reluctance of some European countries to participate, the French head of state reiterated that European forces will not be on the front lines, a place that the Ukrainian army will occupy, but will remain in the background.

Their goal is to be a "deterrent" tool to prevent Russia from attacking again. "These guarantee forces are not intended to be peacekeeping forces, they are not intended to be present on the line of contact or to replace the Ukrainian army," Macron stressed during the press conference. However, on Wednesday, after meeting with Zelensky, the French president admitted that if Russia were to attack European troops deployed in Ukraine, they would have to respond.

The Russian president, Vladimir Putin strongly opposes the presence of European military personnel. on Ukrainian territory when a ceasefire exists, and has made this clear. But France has also made it clear that Putin has no say in what happens in Ukraine. "It's not Russia that decides what happens on Ukrainian territory," said the head of the Élysée Palace.

Unspecified proposal

However, the idea is still very much in its infancy. Neither the number of military personnel needed for the mission nor the mandate it will operate under has been established. Macron has also not announced which states will participate. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has not revealed whether Spain will be part of the coalition of volunteer states and left the Élysée Palace without making any statements. Although many aspects still remain to be finalized, France estimates that the mission's architecture will be ready within three or four weeks.

Regarding the participation of the United States in the peacekeeping mission, which Paris and London had deemed essential, France is backing down. Given Donald Trump's refusal to support the European guarantee force, Macron seems to have accepted that the mission will be carried out outside the US umbrella. "We must prepare for the possibility that they might not join [...]. But we cannot say that if the Americans don't participate, we won't be able to carry out the mission," the French president stated. For the United Kingdom, on the other hand, assuming that Washington will not participate seems more problematic.

Emancipate yourself from the US

Macron went further and proclaimed Europe's emancipation from the United States: "For the first time in a long time, we must prepare for a possible scenario, which is not what we want, which is having to act completely alone. This is what it means to come of age from a geopolitical point of view. It's good for Europe," he asserted.

In parallel with the definition of the peacekeeping force, a Franco-British mission will soon travel to Ukraine to work with local military officials on the role of Kiev's army in maintaining future peace. In Macron's words, to define "the Ukrainian army of tomorrow." The initiative is also a message to Putin, who intends to demilitarize Ukraine when the war is over. In contrast, Europe—which is staking its security on Ukraine—is working to strengthen Zelensky's army and plans to leave the protection of its territory in the country's hands after the war. A strong army is key to preventing further aggression from Moscow.

Sanctions in Russia

Most European countries were represented at the summit, along with Turkey, Canada, and Australia. States supporting Ukraine are wary of Russia's request to ease trade sanctions imposed by Western countries. On this point, there was consensus at the summit: Moscow's demands should not be given in. The leaders believe this is not the time to be flexible with Putin and have called on the US not to give in.

"Now is not the time to back down or ease sanctions; now is the time to increase sanctions to bring [Russia] to the negotiating table," British Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned in Paris. According to the British leader, the way to get Putin to accept peace is by exerting more pressure. "That means increasing economic pressure on Russia, accelerating new, tougher sanctions, affecting Russia's energy revenues, and working together to make this pressure work," he insisted.

Europe at the negotiating table

The Ukrainian president also called on Trump not to give in to Putin: "We need the United States. We need the United States to be tougher with Russia. We want the American president to be tougher with the Kremlin."

Zelensky also asked Washington to allow Europe to sit at the negotiating table and assured that at the Paris summit it was agreed that France and the United Kingdom would be the representatives of the blog. "Europe must be at the negotiating table to end the war. It's necessary, we see no alternative," he asserted.