Macron outlines four key security guarantees for Ukraine from Europe

“We tried to organize, in Franco-British and with our German friends, to come to the aid of Ukraine, to put it in a position to negotiate in the best conditions and also to provide security guarantees, which are a key element of a solid and lasting peace,” emphasized the French president.

Macron noted that European efforts helped restore dialogue between Ukraine and the US. This came after the breakdown in relations between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

According to him, this also enabled the organization of a meeting in Jeddah, during which Ukraine supported the US initiative for a 30-day ceasefire.

The president stressed that Europe advocated for a clearly defined and measurable ceasefire period during which compliance could be monitored.

"Now, the pressure, as we can clearly see, is on Russia, with a Russian position that, in fact, has not changed… that is, its willingness to have peace, but a peace, ultimately, on its terms. I think that Moscow's refusal and the implicit threats that have been made speak to the insincerity of Russia's commitment and, ultimately, its unwillingness to undertake real peace work," the president analyzed.

European leaders, considering the experience of the Minsk Agreements, must understand that a ceasefire cannot happen solely on Russia's terms. The Minsk Agreements were signed but later violated by Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Security guarantees for Ukraine

“It is clear that the Ukrainians cannot under any circumstances make territorial concessions without having any security guarantees. We have carried out the work I had committed to, which is to give credibility to the security guarantees, with an important meeting held in Paris (last Wednesday -ed.) with all the chiefs of staff of the European and allied armies,” the president emphasized.

Emmanuel Macron detailed four main elements of security guarantees for Ukraine:

• Immediate support for Ukraine, including through new initiatives for equipment supply and adjusting deliveries according to current needs.
• Creation of a format for Ukraine's army for future peace, enabling it to resist new Russian offensives.
• The possibility of deployment in Ukraine in the future, based on a voluntary coalition.
• Strengthening European defense, which serves as a security guarantee, as well as additional investments and coordination among armies.

“All of this (the outlining of the main security guarantees for Ukraine -ed.) has now made it possible to launch technical work that will be completed in the coming days, and which must put capacity figures and lists of countries and actions behind each of these elements,” he noted.

As a reminder, national security advisers from Germany, the UK, and France visited the US yesterday. They traveled to Washington for talks with US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz.

Earlier, RBC-Ukraine reported that on March 11, Ukrainian and American delegations discussed the US initiative for a ceasefire with Russia. In the end, Kyiv supported it.

As noted by Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, this step could mark the beginning of the path to ending the war.