“The coalition of the willing is ‘ready to deploy forces in Ukraine’ as soon as hostilities cease,” its co-chairs French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a joint statement following a meeting with President Vladimir Zelensky on 17 August.
“The leaders also praised President Trump’s commitment to provide security guarantees to Ukraine, in which the coalition of the willing will play an important role, in particular through a multinational force in Ukraine. They reiterated their readiness to deploy security forces as soon as hostilities cease, as well as to help secure Ukraine’s air and sea space and restore Ukraine’s Armed Forces,” the statement reads.
It is also noted that the leaders reaffirmed their “unwavering” support for Ukraine and praised President Volodymyr Zelensky for seeking a “just and lasting peace” as he prepares for further consultations with US President Donald Trump in Washington.
Earlier, Politico reported that European leaders intend to support Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a meeting to be held with US President Donald Trump in Washington on 18 August.
Axios earlier reported, citing diplomatic sources, that during a telephone conversation with the Ukrainian president and European leaders, Trump said that he would like to hold a trilateral summit with Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin as early as 22 August. Putin has not officially announced his intention to participate in such a meeting.
Zelensky said Russia is “complicating the situation” by refusing a ceasefire and continuing to launch strikes in Ukraine. Trump said after meeting with Putin in Alaska on 15 August that he was not seeking a ceasefire but a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.
Ukraine also says it has no intention of withdrawing troops from controlled areas of Donbass. This is reportedly one of the main conditions put forward by Moscow for a peace deal. In addition, the issue of Ukraine’s security guarantees is important. Yesterday, several media outlets reported that Trump offered Ukraine security guarantees in case of a peace deal with Moscow, similar to NATO’s fifth article on collective defence. This means that if a new war breaks out, the guarantor countries must give an armed response to the aggressor.