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Posted By Admin On February 18th, 2025

European leaders meeting in Paris for emergency talks, on Monday, sought higher spending to ramp up the continent’s defence capabilities but remained split on the idea of deploying peacekeepers to Ukraine to back up any peace deal.

The leaders also agreed it would be dangerous to conclude a Ukraine ceasefire without a peace agreement at the same time.

They added that they were ready to provide security guarantees to Ukraine depending on the level of American support.

Recall that French President, Emmanuel Macron called the Paris meeting after US President Donald Trump arranged bilateral peace talks with Russia, excluding European allies and Ukraine from negotiations to end the war that are scheduled to begin in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

According to officials from both countries, Macron spoke with Trump ahead of the meetings.

A White House official called it a friendly call in which they talked about the Paris meeting and the talks in Saudi Arabia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy also said he had a long call with Macron on security guarantees.

“We share a common vision: security guarantees must be robust and reliable. Any other decision without such guarantees such as a fragile ceasefire would only serve as another deception by Russia and a prelude to a new Russian war against Ukraine or other European nations,” Zelenskiy said.

Recall that Trump stunned Ukraine and European allies last week when he announced he had called Russian President Vladimir Putin, long ostracised by the West, to discuss ending the war without consulting them, and they must now confront the reality of a future with less US protection.

The US decision has sparked a realization among European nations that they will have to do more to ensure Ukraine’s security.

Source: https://dailypost.ng/2025/02/18/europe-seeks-more-defence-spending-divided-over-ukraine-peacekeeper-plan/