The Presidents of Ukraine and France, Volodymyr Zelensky and Emmanuel Macron, reported the results of the "Coalition of the Willing" summit in Paris on September 4.
Babel has collected the main statements of the leaders.
What Macron said
The French leader stated that the "Coalition of the Willing" has created a certain scheme of military and political engagement to guarantee peace and security for Ukraine.
"Today, there is a political and military proposal on the table from 35 leaders — how to provide Ukraine with security guarantees".
According to Macron, 26 countries have now formally agreed to either send a contingent to Ukraine or provide some means to support the coalition forces for security at sea or in the air. The purpose of these forces is to guarantee peace and send a strategic signal to prevent the resumption of fighting.
"In February 2024, only two countries were ready to send a peacekeeping contingent to Ukraine: Lithuania and France, and now there are about 20 countries," Macron added.
The French President also emphasized that there can be no restrictions in the negotiations regarding the format or capabilities of the Ukrainian army.
"We have decided to initiate legal and political steps to implement these security guarantees. This will be done by all countries of the "Coalition of the Willing," he stressed.
Macron also spoke about the results of the conversation between European leaders and the US President Donald Trump. According to him, in the coming days, Europeans will take stock of American support for security guarantees and sanctions.
The French leader announced new contacts between Americans and Russians in the near future.
"In the coming days, we will finalize the work on American support and sanctions. [...] If Russia refuses peace, we will give a clear response — this was also stated by Trump during the call," Macron added.
According to him, the security guarantees that the leaders developed at the summit have political confirmation and are consistent with all NATO program documents and the security of the Allianceʼs eastern front.
What Zelensky said
The President of Ukraine stated that there is already a basis and vision for future security guarantees for Ukraine, and relevant documents are being prepared.
"There is a basic framework of security guarantees. A strong Ukrainian army is and will be a central element of security guarantees. This includes financing and the supply of weapons," Zelensky emphasized.
According to him, the presence of the armies of European countries in Ukraine will definitely be within the framework of security guarantees. However, which countries and how many troops are involved have not yet been disclosed.
The Ukrainian leader also noted that European production lines are not working well enough yet, the volume and speed should be greater. At the same time, almost 60% of all weapons used in Ukraine are domestic.
A new format for air defense and sky protection is being considered.
"If we receive a positive signal from the US — because technically a lot depends on them in this format of sky protection — we will be happy to share information," Zelensky noted.
He added that Ukraineʼs membership in the EU has been placed in a separate security guarantee item.
Zelensky also commented on the conversation between European leaders and Trump: "A detailed conversation about how to push the situation towards peace. The most important thing is pressure, including economic pressure, to force Russia to end the war. The key to peace is to deprive the Russian war machine of money and resources. We also raised the issue of maximum protection of Ukrainian skies. [...] We are counting on this program. We have agreed on further contacts."
Separately, Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented on Putinʼs recent proposal to hold a meeting in Moscow. According to him, Russia is doing everything to postpone the leadersʼ meeting.
"American partners told us that Putin invited me to Moscow. I believe that if you want there to be no meeting, you should invite me to Moscow. Therefore, I think that when Russia started talking about a meeting, itʼs already good. But so far we donʼt see their desire to end the war," Zelensky said.
“Coalition of the Willing” Summit: What is known?
The summit took place on Thursday, September 4, in Paris in a hybrid format. It was initiated by the leaders of Great Britain and France, Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron.
The meeting was attended by 34 leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The summit participants primarily discussed security guarantees for Ukraine, and at the end, they called the US President Donald Trump.
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