Representatives of 31 countries and the NATO Secretary attended the “Coalition of the Willing” meeting in Paris.

On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron unveiled a range of initiatives to support Ukraine at a summit in Paris, amid growing uncertainty over continued U.S. assistance.

RELATED:

Ukraine Has Opened a Hunt for Russian War Correspondents: Zakharova

At a press conference following the summit of the “Coalition of the Willing,” he announced a joint Franco-British plan to send a team to Ukraine to help shape the future structure of the Ukrainian army.

Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer would “jointly lead” the coordination efforts of Ukraine’s international coalition of allies.

The French president also raised the idea of deploying “reassurance forces” from a few willing European Union member states to strategic locations in Ukraine should a peace agreement be reached with Russia, saying the potential deployment would serve as a deterrent and form part of long-term security guarantees for Ukraine.

“There is no consensus on this point,” Macron acknowledged and underscored the importance of continued American support for any potential European deployment but said Europe must prepare for a scenario in which the United States is no longer involved. On Wednesday, Macron announced France will provide an additional 2 billion euros (US$2.2 billion) in aid for Ukraine.

On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Paris summit served to designate Macron and Starmer as European representatives for any eventual peace negotiations with Russia.

“All of us in Europe have agreed that Europe will be represented by France and the United Kingdom. Macron and Starmer. That’s important. It’s a clear position, and we want to send that signal to all other partners and, of course, to the United States,” Zelensky said.

teleSUR/ JF

Sources: Xinhua – EFE

EN ESTA NOTA: