Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is meeting European leaders in Paris on Thursday as Western frustration mounts over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to negotiate an end to Moscow’s three-and-a-half-year war in Ukraine.
The summit, co-chaired by the leaders of France and the UK, is focused on firming up security guarantees for Ukraine should a ceasefire be reached and clarifying the United States’ potential role in supporting Kyiv. European leaders have kept details under wraps, but the guarantees are expected to include the deployment of troops, training, and backstop support from the United States.
Speaking alongside Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron said, “We are ready, we Europeans, to offer security guarantees to Ukraine the day a peace accord is signed,” adding that the plan was prepared in advance by defense ministers and remains “extremely confidential.”
Zelensky expressed confidence that Europe’s support would increase pressure on Russia to seek a diplomatic resolution, though he noted, “Unfortunately, we have not yet seen any signs from Russia that they want to end the war.”
Russia, however, has dismissed the guarantees as unacceptable. Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called them “not guarantees of Ukraine’s security, but guarantees of danger to the European continent” and warned that Moscow would not consider foreign troop deployments “in any format.”
Ahead of the talks, Zelensky told French magazine Le Point that European guarantees alone “might not be enough” to deter Putin from further aggression, emphasizing the need for a “strong alliance between Europe and the United States.” The summit will be followed by phone talks with US President Donald Trump and a press conference later in the day.
The gathering comes after Putin’s recent high-profile trips to China and the US. At a military parade in Beijing, he claimed Russian forces were advancing on “all fronts” and that Ukraine’s army was too weakened to mount an effective offensive. Photographs from the event showed Putin walking down Tiananmen Square alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
European leaders have grown increasingly exasperated with Putin, issuing sharp warnings about the protracted conflict. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called him “a war criminal,” saying leniency was out of place. Macron has described Putin as “an ogre at our gates,” while France’s Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu noted that Russia could continue the war “for as long as it can,” highlighting Moscow’s strategy of buying time and deceiving partners.
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