Military chiefs from 30 European and NATO countries are meeting in Paris on Tuesday, eager to provide security guarantees to Ukraine after any talks with Russia. More than three years after Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine, Europe is struggling to boost its security and wean itself off its dependence on the United States.
The moves come as US President Donald Trump is upending the transatlantic alliance and seeking a rapprochement with Moscow. Trump has resumed communication with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, raising fears among Kiev and European allies that Trump could force Ukraine to accept a deal in favor of Russia.
Trump has also suspended military aid and intelligence sharing with Kiev. According to a Ukrainian official, Ukraine was to propose an air and naval ceasefire with Russia during talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. The French military said a Paris meeting of military chiefs from 30 European and NATO nations, including Britain and Turkey, would take place on the same day.
President Emmanuel Macron, who said he is in close coordination with NATO military command, will address the meeting. Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are leading efforts to form a so-called ‘coalition of the willing’ to implement a possible ceasefire in Ukraine.
The defense ministers of Europe’s five major military powers – France, Britain, Germany, Italy and Poland – will then meet in the French capital on Wednesday. The talks will focus on the “necessary rearmament of Europe” and military support for Ukraine, said one of the French defense minister’s aides.
Starmer will hold virtual talks on Saturday with leaders of nations willing to support a ceasefire in return, his office said. Macron said last week that any European troops would be deployed in Ukraine “only after the peace agreement has been signed to ensure it is fully respected.”
He has also said he is ready to discuss expanding France’s nuclear deterrence to European partners. Turkey, which has NATO’s second-largest army after the United States and a Black Sea coastline, is seeking to play a key role in Europe’s security as Washington shifts its focus away from the region.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has given his support to Zelensky’s call for an air and naval ceasefire.
