Macro: We'll agree with US in the next few days on security guarantees for Ukraine

France's President Emmanuel Macron has said on Thursday that 26 countries have agreed to participate in security guarantees for Ukraine after the end of the war, and that US support for these guarantees will be finalised in the coming days.

Macron spoke after hosting a day of hybrid diplomacy at the Elise Palace in Paris on Thursday.

About 30 leaders of Ukraine's Western allies met with President Voldymyr Zelensky to negotiate security guarantees for the war-torn country, which would follow any peace agreement reached with Russia to end the biggest and most deadly conflict in Europe since World War II, follows Periscope.

The talks were followed by a videoconference with US President Donald Trump.

Macron said 26 countries “have pledged to send troops as a security force to Ukraine or will be present on land, sea or air”.

He stressed that these forces would not be placed on the front line, but in areas that have not yet been defined.

In the coming days, we will finalise US support for these security guarantees. The United States, as I said, has been involved in all phases of this process”, Macron indicated.

The US has yet to promise a clear role in Ukraine after the war. Its participation is seen as essential to supporting Allied efforts.

Zelensky, at a joint conference with Macroni, said that once a preliminary document is approved by the US, further steps will be taken.

It's important that the United States is with us. We spoke with President Trump today. Thank you very much for his commitment”, Zelensky said.

The two leaders also talked about efforts to ensure a meeting between Zelensky and Russia's president, Vladimir Putin.

If Russia continues to reject concrete peace talks... we will impose additional sanctions in co-operation with the United States”, Macron said.

President Trump expressed this earlier during the “conversation, he found out.

Efforts to make this meeting possible among them have been constantly hampered by Moscow.

On September 3rd, Putin said he would meet Zelensky in Moscow. Because of Ukraine's full invasion by Russia, this is unacceptable to Zelensky, who has proposed neutral countries like Turkey.

“Putin will meet me in Moscow. That means Russia does not want to have a” meeting, Zelensky said in Paris.

Before the talks in Paris, a result was eagerly expected, as Secretary General NATO, Mark Rutte, had said the day before that he expected “returned on security guarantees that could be offered in the coming days.

Trump has said in the past that European countries will have to keep most of the burden on providing guarantees, while the US will support “operations probably... from air”.

Washington has not yet talked about the results of Thursday's talks.

Russia says it opposes the presence of European troops on Ukraine's land.

Putin, who warned that Moscow is ready to select all of our military tasks” unless an acceptable peace agreement is reached.

The “Willing Coalation” that participated in the Paris talks includes about 30 states supporting Ukraine, mainly European, but also Canada, Australia and Japan. /REL/