Britain, France ready to deploy troops to Ukraine after a ceasefire
Allies agree 'robust' security guarantees for Kyiv
European and US allies of Ukraine on Tuesday agreed "robust" security guarantees for Kyiv to come into force after an eventual ceasefire that would see the United States lead a truce monitoring mechanism, French President Emmanuel Macron said.
Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky signed a declaration of intent that foresees Britain, France and other European allies deploying troops on Ukrainian territory after a ceasefire.
Macron said after the meeting in Paris that the moves represented "robust security guarantees for a solid and lasting peace", hailing an "operational convergence" among allies including the United States.
The security guarantees are "the key to ensuring that a peace agreement can never mean a Ukrainian surrender and that a peace agreement can never mean a new threat to Ukraine" from Russia, Macron said.
Against the background of tensions between Europe and the US on Greenland and Venezuela, US envoy Steve Witkoff, who was present at the talks in Paris, said "a lot of progress" had been made.
Allies have "largely finished" agreeing security guarantees for Ukraine "so that the people of Ukraine know that when this ends, it ends forever," he said, flanked by President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner who was also present at the talks.
Witkoff said that "land options" will be the most "critical issue" and "hopefully we will be able to come up with certain compromises with regard to that".
Starmer said for his part that following a ceasefire the UK and France will establish "military hubs" across Ukraine and "build protected facilities for weapons and military equipment to support Ukraine's defensive needs".
But he warned: "We can only get to a peace deal if (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is ready to make compromises. Putin is not showing he is ready for peace."
"This only hardens our resolve," he added.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, whose nation has been wary of contributing troops to a multinational force, said German forces could join to monitor a Ukraine ceasefire, but based in a neighbouring country.
"We will certainly have to make compromises", he said in Paris, adding that "we will not achieve textbook diplomatic solutions".