On Saturday 10 May, the leaders of France, Germany, Poland, the UK and Ukraine agreed that there should be a full, unconditional ceasefire - in the air, at sea and on land - which, “by definition, cannot be subject to any conditions” for at least 30 days in Ukraine, starting on Monday 12 May.
In their statement, the five European leaders said that “If Russia calls for such conditions, this can only be considered as an effort to prolong the war and undermine diplomacy.”.
According to the presidents, prime ministers and chancellor, the ceasefire should last at least 30 days to allow time for diplomacy. “During this period, diplomatic work should focus on outlining the security, political and humanitarian foundations of peace”, according to their statement issued by the Élysée Palace.
On Monday, Russia had still not accepted the ceasefire and the fighting continued. Moscow, for its part, has proposed talks on Thursday in Turkey, a proposal accepted by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who will be travelling to Turkey, but Russian President Vladimir Putin has not yet confirmed that he will be coming. The American President, Donald Trump, is reportedly also planning to visit.
Respecting a ceasefire was a precondition for talks. On Saturday, at a meeting of the members of the “coalition of the willing” by video conference, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, gave her full support to the proposal for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, “enabling a process of peace negotiations to begin”. This position was reiterated on Monday by the EU High Representative and the Weimar+ foreign ministers (France, Germany, Poland, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom), with France’s Jean-Noël Barrot saying that “negotiations cannot take place under bombs and drone attacks”, and denounced by the Kremlin, which rejects any ultimatum.
Preparation of new sanctions. For the European leaders, “if Russia refuses a full and unconditional ceasefire, stronger sanctions should be applied to its banking and energy sectors, targeting fossil fuels, oil and the ‘shadow fleet’”.
The Europeans are currently discussing the 17th sanctions package, which targets nearly 200 ships linked to the Russian ‘shadow fleet’. The ambassadors could give their agreement to the package on Wednesday, for adoption at the EU Council meeting on 20 May.
Jean-Noël Barrot explained that the European Commission had been asked to prepare additional sanctions, which would be “massive” and would target the energy and financial sectors in order to force Vladimir Putin “to return to a logic of peace”. These European sanctions would be coordinated with those imposed by the United Kingdom, Norway and the United States.
Strengthening Ukrainian defence. The European leaders also stressed the “crucial importance” of strengthening Ukraine’s Defence and Security Forces, “which are the primary guarantee of Ukraine’s sovereignty and security”. “A key element of security guarantees to Ukraine should also be a reassurance force (Contingent)”, they said.
In addition, the leaders said they were prepared to further strengthen Ukraine’'s defence, in particular the army. “This should include funding defence resilience and investment in arms production in both Ukraine and in European countries in the framework of joint projects”, the Europeans said (see other news).
On Monday, the foreign ministers of the Weimar+ countries and the EU High Representative announced that they had decided to work together with Ukraine on initiatives aimed at strengthening the Ukrainian armed forces, rebuilding stocks of munitions and equipment and further enhancing industrial capabilities.
See the declaration by European leaders: https://aeur.eu/f/grw
See those of the ministers: https://aeur.eu/f/gs1 (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)