The leaders of France, Britain, and Germany are increasingly at odds over the amount of military aid that should be provided to Ukraine after the war ends.
This is reported by the Financial Times, citing sources.
France and Britain, which are the initiators of the so-called Coalition of the Willing, insist that the original plan to deploy peacekeepers to Ukraine remains feasible. However, other countries, including Germany, are more skeptical of the idea, given that the United States continues to oppose it.
Sources close to the talks say British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron remain supportive of the idea of deploying a peacekeeping force, arguing it would keep Europe engaged in the ceasefire talks, boost Ukraineʼs morale and show support for US President Donald Trump.
But one European official called the plan “dead”, saying it could not be implemented without Trump’s support, which he appears unwilling to provide. For his part, a French diplomat told the FT that claims of the plan’s “death” were “not only greatly exaggerated but also completely false”. He added that work on the plan was continuing “at a normal pace”.
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 the sending of troops to Ukraine to monitor the ceasefire. This was the main argument of the evening.
French President Emmanuel Macron proposed deploying European peacekeeping forces behind the future demarcation line in Ukraine, rather than directly on it. Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland immediately opposed it. However, Germanyʼs defense minister later said he was open to the idea of sending peacekeepers to Ukraine.
In turn, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that his country was ready to deploy troops to Ukraine and support the peace agreements "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 would be logical if Brussels sent troops to Ukraine. Sweden does not rule out such a possibility, as does the Czech Republic.
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 Boloyan.
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. This also 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.
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