UKRAINE’S allies from across Europe gathered for talks in Paris today about how to strengthen Kiev’s hand and its military as it pushes for a ceasefire with Russia.
The allies also considered proposals to deploy European troops in the country alongside any peace deal.
French President Emmanuel Macron was hosting the leaders of nearly 30 countries plus Nato and European Union chiefs.
The summit comes at a crucial point in the more than three-year war, with intensifying diplomatic efforts to broker ceasefires, driven by pressure from United States President Donald Trump to end the fighting which rages on.
US-brokered agreements this week to safeguard shipping in the Black Sea and halt long-range strikes on energy infrastructure were greeted as a first step toward peace.
But Ukraine and Russia have disagreed over the details and accused each other of deal violations, foreshadowing a long and contentious process ahead.
France and Britain are pushing a separate initiative to build a coalition of nations willing in one way or another to support the deployment of a European armed force in Ukraine, with the aim of securing any peace deal by dissuading Russia from attacking the country again.
After talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to prepare for the summit, Mr Macron said on Wednesday that the proposed European force could deploy to “important towns, strategic bases” in Ukraine and that it could “respond” to a Russian attack if Moscow launched one.
Mr Macron didn’t specify what sort of response he envisaged. But he suggested that a Russian attack might not go unanswered, even though the European troops wouldn't be deployed to the front lines.
Mr Macron said: “If there was again a generalised aggression against Ukrainian soil, these armies would, in fact, be under attack and then it’s our usual framework of engagement.
“Our soldiers, when they are engaged and deployed, are there to react and respond to the decisions of the commander in chief and, if they are in a conflict situation, to respond to it.
“So we are not on the front lines, we don’t go to fight, but we are there to guarantee a lasting peace. It's a pacifist approach.”
In the meantime, Ukraine’s allies in Europe are working to strengthen Kiev’s hand militarily. Their aim is to enable it to keep fighting until any broad ceasefire takes hold, and also to turn the Ukrainian army into the first line of defence against any future Russian aggression.