The coalition of the willing will meet by videoconference on Tuesday for the 4th anniversary of the Russian invasion
Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer will co-chair, on Tuesday, a videoconference meeting of the coalition of volunteers in support of Ukraine, on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the Russian invasion which began on February 24, 2022, the Elysée announced on Friday.
“While Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine will already enter its fifth year”this meeting “should make it possible to reiterate the commitment of the 35 participating countries alongside Ukraine, to help it bring about the conditions for a robust and lasting peace which guarantees the security of Ukraine and Europe”said the French presidency.
The last summit of these “volunteers” took place on January 6 in Paris, in the presence of emissaries of the American president, Donald Trump. The 35 member countries agreed to deploy a multinational force in Ukraine in the event of a peace agreement, with the ” support “ from Washington, and noted that a ceasefire would be monitored by a mechanism under American leadership.
This time, there is no American participation planned, the Elysée told journalists.
Some European leaders will attend from kyiv, where they will be visiting for this anniversary, alongside Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian president explained in an interview with AFP on Friday that his country would like, in the event of a ceasefire, for European troops to be deployed to “closer to the front line”.
Until now, Emmanuel Macron has always mentioned this possible deployment far from the front line, as a deterrent force against any new Russian attack rather than as a peacekeeping force.
The Europeans are not directly associated with the trilateral discussions between Ukrainians, Russians and Americans, even if they were present on the sidelines of the last session, this week in Geneva. “We need even more association” Europeans at the talks, “and this is why France will continue to plead”said an advisor to the French president.
Before the volunteers’ meeting, Emmanuel Macron will receive his Finnish counterpart, Alexander Stubb, on Monday for a working lunch at the Elysée, particularly focused on “continued support for Ukraine”also announced the presidency. The two men will participate together from Paris in a videoconference of the Baltic and Nordic countries of the NB8 group (Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) to discuss security in the Arctic after the crisis around American aims on Greenland.
