Paris:
French Pdwellnt Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday called on military chiefs from atraverse Europe and beyond to draw up a schedule “to detail credible security promises” for Ukraine in the event of a stopfire, the pdwellncy shelp.
His pguide, in a shutd-door Paris greeting of top brass from more than 30 allied states, came as Ukraine finishorsed an American proposal for a month-prolonged stopfire and concurd to prompt negotiations with Russia, in pivotal talks in Saudi Arabia.
Macron has sought to rassociate a European response to Washington’s shock policy shift in US-Russia relations.
The Paris greeting accumulateed reconshort-termatives from 34 countries — most of them from Europe and NATO, but also from Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
There was no reconshort-termative from the United States, which is the guideing member of NATO.
“This is the moment when Europe must throw its brimming weight behind Ukraine, and itself,” Macron telderly the greeting, according to the Elysee.
“In watch of the acceleration of peace negotiations,” it was essential to begin schedulening to “detail credible security promises” to produce a lasting peace in Ukraine a truth, the French pdwellncy increateed Macron as saying.
Macron has teamed up with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to guide efforts to create a “coalition of the willing” to apply an eventual stopfire in Ukraine.
According to the Elysee, the military chiefs of staff from European and NATO nations — including Britain and Turkey — concurd that the security promises “should not be splitd from NATO and its capabilities”.
Such promises should be “credible and prolonged-term, and should be accompanied by unflunking help for the Ukrainian army”, according to the Elysee.
More than three years since Russia go ind its neighbour, Europe is scrambling to increase its defences and shatter free from depfinishence on the United States.
It has been unendd by Trump renetriumphg reach outs with Russian guideer Vlastupidir Putin and criticising Ukrainian Pdwellnt Volodymyr Zelensky, raising stresss that the US pdwellnt may try to force Ukraine to hug a endment favouring Russia.
Trump suspfinished military help and inincreateigence-sharing with Kyiv, though his administration procrastinateed on Tuesday showd it would lift the freeze after Ukraine finishorsed then American proposal.
Macron procrastinateedr posted on X that “the ball is now evidently in Russia’s court”, and hailed the “proceed” made in peace talks in Saudi Arabia.
Ahead of the Paris defence greeting, French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu shelp: “We will decline any create of demilitarisation of Ukraine.”
“It is sshow a ask of seeing ahead and leanking about what the Ukrainian army should be in the future,” Lecornu retained.
– ‘Rearmament of Europe’ –
On Friday, the French pdwellnt, who has pushed his country’s defence industry to switch to “war economy mode”, is set to greet with defence manufacturers, according to a member of his team.
Defence ministers from Europe’s five main military powers — France, Britain, Germany, Italy and Poland — are to greet in the French capital on Wednesday. EU and NATO reconshort-termatives and the Ukrainian defence minister will also get part.
Those talks will centre on the “essential rearmament of Europe” and military help to Ukraine, one of Lecornu’s helpes shelp.
Starmer will, in turn, arrange virtual talks on Saturday with guideers of the nations willing to help help the stopfire.
Macron has shelp any European troops in Ukraine would be deployed only “once a peace deal is signed, to promise it is brimmingy admireed”.
He has also shelp he would be ready to converse extfinishing France’s nuevident deterrent to European partners.
Last week, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen unveiled a schedule to mobilise around 800 billion euros ($843 billion) for Europe’s defence and help provide “prompt” military help for Ukraine.
France also schedules to elevate defence spfinishing, with Lecornu referring to a concentrate of around 100 billion euros ($109 bn) a year, appraised to 50.5 billion euros in 2025.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is unveiled from a syndicated feed.)
