The French president reportedly plans to advocate a peacekeeping deployment to the country
French President Emmanuel Macron plans to urge EU leaders to send a peacekeeping mission to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire with Russia, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported on Friday, citing sources.
The force would be tasked with observing a truce, if peace talks between Moscow and Kiev are successful. According to the US state-funded news outlet, the French leader plans to discuss the issue at next week’s EU summit.
The idea of sending Western peacekeepers to Ukraine was reportedly pitched by US President-elect Donald Trump at his December 7 meeting with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and Macron in Paris. According to an earlier report by the Wall Street Journal, Trump has been drafting proposals for a diplomatic solution to the conflict, and wants European nations to play a leading role in monitoring a ceasefire.
The idea was later discussed by British and French officials, according to media reports, and Macron was said to have presented it to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk during their meeting in Warsaw earlier this week. Tusk, however, said no such plans are in place “for the time being” for either Poland or the rest of the EU. Warsaw, one of Kiev’s staunchest backers, will assume the EU Council presidency next month.
Discussions on the topic are reportedly still at an early stage, and it is unclear which countries could be involved, and how many troops. A number of EU officials have also cautioned that it is premature to discuss peacekeepers’ deployment at this stage in the conflict.
The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, stressed on Thursday that Russia and Ukraine first need to agree to a ceasefire for any peacekeeping missions to be possible. She also noted that it would be “up to every single European country” to decide whether to participate in such an effort.
Sources told Radio Free Europe the matter is currently being raised to lay the groundwork for discussions with Trump, to ensure the EU’s presence at potential peace talks.
The US president-elect has repeatedly pledged to end the Ukraine conflict within 24 of returning to the White House. His pick for special envoy on Ukraine and Russia, retired Army General Keith Kellogg, is reportedly among the authors of a draft peace plan that would freeze the conflict along the current line without recognizing Russia’s sovereignty over territories claimed by Ukraine, while suspending Kiev’s NATO membership bid.
Russia has repeatedly ruled out freezing the conflict, insisting that a settlement is only possible if Ukraine withdraws its forces from Russian territory, including former Ukrainian regions, and if the goals of Moscow’s military operation – including Ukraine’s neutrality and demilitarization – are met.
