Less than three weeks after the meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in Alaska, a meeting of more than 30 Ukrainian allies, a coalition of the willing, was held on Thursday under the leadership of France and Great Britain. The meeting sought to develop a more concrete plan for security guarantees for Ukraine once the fighting stops. It involves the deployment of soldiers from European countries to Ukraine, as well as arming, financing and training the Ukrainian army, which, if strong enough, will be the most reliable security guarantee for preventing a Russian attack after a ceasefire or the conclusion of peace.

Extensive participation for agreement

In addition to Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelensky, who had dinner together on Wednesday, the meeting of the Coalition of the Willing in Paris was attended by billionaire and Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa, the prime ministers of Poland, Spain and Denmark, Donald Tusk, Pedro Sanchez and Mette Frederiksen ​, and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who is considered a friend of Trump. The prime ministers of Great Britain, Germany and Italy, Keir Starmer, Friedrich Merz and Giorgia Meloni, among others, participated in the talks via video link. The basic problem with security guarantees is that they will only be possible after the war has ended, which is not yet in sight.

We have 26 countries that have officially committed to participating in the peacekeeping force by sending troops to Ukraine or by having a presence on the ground, at sea or in the air to ensure peace on Ukrainian territory immediately after the ceasefire with Russia is concluded.

Emmanuel Macron,  French President

Immediately after the meeting of the coalition of the willing, a video conference between Trump, Zelensky and the most important European leaders followed. They mainly discussed how the United States could participate in security guarantees. European leaders also wanted to convince Trump to adopt new sanctions against Russia, so that its economy could be brought to its knees. Trump is said to have shown a willingness to further limit the earnings that Putin's Russia makes from oil and gas exports. He is demanding that Europe stop buying Russian oil and start putting economic pressure on China for supporting Russia. But in the EU, only Slovakia and Hungary, which are Trump's allies, are buying Russian oil.

They will not reveal the plan to Russia.

On Wednesday, Trump stated at the White House during a visit to the new Polish President Karol Nawrocki that something would happen if Putin did not meet his expectations. But Trump has already given in to him too many times: for months he demanded an unconditional ceasefire from him in vain, and after a meeting with him in Alaska, when he gave up on the ceasefire, he also demanded at least a trilateral meeting with Zelensky, to no avail.

After Thursday's talks in Paris and a video conference with Zelensky, Macron said that Europe is ready to deploy troops to Ukraine if the war stops, and that final agreements on American participation will be reached in the coming days. We have already formally approved the possible deployment of our troops to Ukraine in France and Lithuania. Twenty countries have expressed their readiness for this. Formal approval is expected to follow in the coming weeks, he said. The US is very clear that it wants to participate in ensuring security. But we will not reveal our plan to Mr. Putin's Russia. He added: Regardless of whether there is a ceasefire or peace, as soon as the guns fall silent, the security guarantees will come into effect.

Zelensky for strengthening the Ukrainian army

Zelensky said that the allies from the coalition of the willing have developed a general framework of security guarantees. He regretted that Putin does not show any will to stop the war. He added that he will consider the meeting in China as an incentive to continue the war. Regarding security guarantees, he said: We must not disclose the structure of the agreements on security guarantees. The first pillar is the strengthening of our army and our arms industry. (…) However, we have found that the production of weapons and ammunition in Europe is insufficient and that it needs to be increased. About 60 percent of the weapons we use are manufactured in Ukraine.

He is convinced that a meeting with Putin is necessary. But if they propose a meeting in Moscow, it means that they do not want it. But the fact that Russia is talking about it is the first step. On Wednesday, Putin invited Zelensky to Moscow for the second time in three weeks for peace negotiations.

Why would Russia decide on Ukraine?

The Kremlin on Wednesday dismissed the possibility of NATO troops entering Ukrainian territory. Russia will not discuss the possibility of foreign troops entering Ukraine. This is completely unacceptable and will completely undermine any form of security, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said in Vladivostok, in Russia's Far East. These are not security guarantees for Ukraine, but a guarantee of danger on the European continent, she said. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte immediately said that Russia would not decide whether the West could send troops to Ukraine."Why should we care what Russia thinks about it?" he added.

Putin said in Beijing on Wednesday that Russia would use its military to achieve its goals if negotiations with Kiev failed. The Russian military is on the offensive on all sectors of the front. Putin's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that lasting peace would only be possible if the Ukrainian regions annexed by Russia in September 2022 were internationally recognized as part of Russia.