French President Emmanuel Macron is exploring the idea of sending peacekeepers to Ukraine under the leadership of the United Nations, an alternative to a plan he previously developed with the British prime minister.
This is reported by The Telegraph.
The French president discussed the idea with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at a European Council meeting on March 20. The Telegraph does not report on the latterʼs reaction.
At the same time, the publication notes that in order to deploy any UN peacekeeping force, the decision must be approved by the UN Security Council. Therefore, in the context of this idea, "the prospects seem small", as Russia and, possibly, the US will be against it.
Peacekeeping troops in Ukraine
After the US and Russia negotiated to end the war in Ukraine without the participation of Europe and Kyiv, an emergency meeting of EU leaders was called in France. One of the key issues was sending troops to Ukraine to monitor the ceasefire. This was the main argument of the evening.
French President Emmanuel Macron has proposed deploying a European peacekeeping force behind the future demarcation line in Ukraine, rather than directly on it. Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland immediately opposed the idea. In return, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his country was ready to deploy troops to Ukraine and support the peace agreement with “ boots on the ground and planes in the sky”.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Swiss Armed Forces Thomas Süssli said he could send troops for a future peacekeeping mission in Ukraine if requested and the government is not against it. Irish Prime Minister Michaël Martin said his country was also ready to send peacekeepers to Ukraine for post-war security. Denmark is also ready for this, as is Australia, as noted by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever believes it is logical for Brussels to send troops to Ukraine. Sweden does not rule out such a possibility.
Meanwhile, the Bulgarian parliament has adopted a declaration that the Bulgarian Armed Forces will not participate in hostilities in Ukraine. And in Romania, they have admitted that they could become a transit center for troops for Western peacekeeping forces in Ukraine, although the parliament does not support this position of interim President Iliye Bologyan.
Bloomberg, citing sources, writes that Turkey could deploy its peacekeeping forces in Ukraine, but will not do so unless it is involved in all consultations and preparations for the formation of the peacekeeping mission.
- Volodymyr Zelensky stated at a briefing on March 19 that the US position affects the position of European countries on the issue of sending peacekeepers to Ukraine. If the US joins the process, the number of countries that will be ready to send their contingent to Ukraine may increase. In addition, this affects the quantitative composition of the contingent of a particular country. Discussions are ongoing, so the president did not name the exact number of potential peacekeeping troops.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine please follow us on X.