French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Thursday 4 September, following a meeting with the leaders of the ‘Coalition of the Willing’, that the security guarantees promised to Ukraine for the day when the conflict would end were ready.
“We are ready”, explained Mr Macron in Paris alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The security guarantees are designed to ensure that in the peace negotiations there are “no limitations on the size or capabilities of the Ukrainian army”. “We have therefore put ourselves in a position to provide the means to regenerate the Ukrainian army, so that it can not only resist any new attack, but also dissuade Russia from any new aggression”, said Mr Macron. Mr Zelensky called for the Ukrainian army and the Ukrainian defence industry to be strengthened right away.
"We must turn Ukraine into a steel porcupine, indigestible to present and future aggressors. This requires strong, well-equipped and modern standing armed forces (...). Europe will continue to train Ukrainian soldiers”, promised the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in a press release.
In addition, of the 35 countries that are members of the coalition, 26 have formally undertaken to deploy troops in Ukraine as reassurance forces or to be present on the ground, at sea or in the air on the day following the ceasefire. The French President specified that the troops - whose number was not revealed - would not have the “objective of waging [any] war” and would not be on the front line, but “in areas that are currently being defined”.
Asked about German, Italian and Polish commitments, Mr Macron said that these countries would support the regeneration of the Ukrainian army and security on the ground, at sea and in the air. “Some with troops or by making their military bases available”, he added.
In a statement, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reiterated her country’s reluctance to send troops, but stressed its willingness to support a possible ceasefire with monitoring and training initiatives outside Ukraine’s borders.
“Germany will decide on a military commitment in due course, once the framework conditions have been clarified. These will include the nature and extent of the US commitment and the outcome of a negotiation process. The Bundestag will decide on a national mandate”, explained federal government spokesman Stefan Kornelius.
At the end of their meeting, the members of the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ spoke by telephone with US President Donald Trump about the safety net that the United States could provide for security guarantees. “In the next few days, we will be finalising American support for these security guarantees”, said Mr Macron.
Strengthening sanctions. The partners in the Coalition of the Willing and the Americans have also decided to coordinate both primary and secondary sanctions, “to be more effective and stop the Russian war effort”, explained the French President.
“If Russia continues to refuse concrete peace talks (...), then we will take additional sanctions in conjunction with the United States and provide a clear response to this refusal to move forward, which is also what President Trump expressed” during the call, warned Mr Macron. Secondary sanctions that could target China. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)