A group of European leaders met in Paris on Monday and agreed to provide Ukraine with security guarantees, but warned that implementing a ceasefire without a concurrent peace agreement would be risky, an EU official stated.
“We are prepared to offer security guarantees, with the specific terms to be determined in discussions with each party, depending on the level of American support,” the official said, summarizing the outcome of the Paris meeting.
The gathering was convened by French President Emmanuel Macron following U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to hold bilateral peace talks with Russia, excluding European allies and Ukraine. These negotiations are set to begin in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
Among the leaders attending the meeting were British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
Also present were Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and European Council President Antonio Costa.
“We share President Trump’s view on a ‘peace through strength’ strategy,” the EU official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“However, we believe it would be dangerous to implement a ceasefire without securing a peace agreement at the same time,” the official added.
