Macron urges allies to plan ‘credible security guarantees’ for Ukraine

France's President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a ceremony marking the 21st European Remembrance Day for Victims of Terrorism in Strasbourg, eastern France, on March 11, 2025. (AFP)

• Macron has teamed up with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to lead efforts to form a “coalition of the willing” to enforce an eventual ceasefire in Ukraine

PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday called on military chiefs from across Europe and beyond to draw up a plan “to define credible security guarantees” for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire, the presidency said.
His appeal, in a closed-door Paris meeting of top brass from more than 30 allied states, came as Ukraine endorsed an American proposal for a month-long ceasefire and agreed to immediate negotiations with Russia, in pivotal talks in Saudi Arabia.
Macron has sought to rally a European response to Washington’s shock policy shift in US-Russia relations.
The Paris meeting gathered representatives from 34 countries — most of them from Europe and NATO, but also from Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
There was no representative from the United States, which is the leading member of NATO.
“This is the moment when Europe must throw its full weight behind Ukraine, and itself,” Macron told the meeting, according to the Elysee.
“In view of the acceleration of peace negotiations,” it was necessary to start planning to “define credible security guarantees” to make a lasting peace in Ukraine a reality, the French presidency reported Macron as saying.
Macron has teamed up with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to lead efforts to form a “coalition of the willing” to enforce an eventual ceasefire in Ukraine.
According to the Elysee, the military chiefs of staff from European and NATO nations — including Britain and Turkiye — agreed that the security guarantees “should not be separated from NATO and its capabilities.”
Such guarantees should be “credible and long-term, and should be accompanied by unfailing support for the Ukrainian army,” according to the Elysee.
More than three years since Russia invaded its neighbor, Europe is scrambling to boost its defenses and break free from dependence on the United States.
It has been unsettled by Trump renewing contacts with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and criticizing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, raising fears that the US president may try to force Ukraine to accept a settlement favoring Russia.
Trump suspended military aid and intelligence-sharing with Kyiv, though his administration late on Tuesday indicated it would lift the freeze after Ukraine endorsed then American proposal.
Macron later posted on X that “the ball is now clearly in Russia’s court,” and hailed the “progress” made in peace talks in Saudi Arabia.
Ahead of the Paris defense meeting, French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said: “We will reject any form of demilitarization of Ukraine.”
“It is simply a question of looking ahead and thinking about what the Ukrainian army should be in the future,” Lecornu added.
On Friday, the French president, who has pushed his country’s defense industry to switch to “war economy mode,” is set to meet with defense manufacturers, according to a member of his team.
Defense ministers from Europe’s five main military powers — France, Britain, Germany, Italy and Poland — are to meet in the French capital on Wednesday. EU and NATO representatives and the Ukrainian defense minister will also take part.
Those talks will center on the “necessary rearmament of Europe” and military support to Ukraine, one of Lecornu’s aides said.
Starmer will, in turn, host virtual talks on Saturday with leaders of the nations willing to help support the ceasefire.
Macron has said any European troops in Ukraine would be deployed only “once a peace deal is signed, to guarantee it is fully respected.”
He has also said he would be ready to discuss extending France’s nuclear deterrent to European partners.
Last week, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen unveiled a plan to mobilize around 800 billion euros ($843 billion) for Europe’s defense and help provide “immediate” military support for Ukraine.
France also plans to raise defense spending, with Lecornu referring to a target of around 100 billion euros ($109 bn) a year, compared to 50.5 billion euros in 2025.