Ukraine, France and the United Kingdom have signed a declaration laying the foundations for a Western presence in Ukraine. A coordination group has been established in Paris to ensure day-to-day operational interaction between the countries of the coalition of the willing, the United States and Ukraine. According to The WP Times, French President Emmanuel Macron announced this during a joint press conference with leaders of the “coalition of the willing” following the Paris summit.
Macron said the new mechanism will allow all participating forces to be fully integrated and ensure coordinated action at the operational level. The coordination group will work in parallel with the coalition’s headquarters, which is already operating in Paris. He added that, within the coalition and based on the work carried out in recent months, the security approach has been strengthened in two key areas. The first concerns the creation of mechanisms to monitor compliance with a ceasefire. The United States will play a leading role in this process, with a number of countries having already expressed their readiness to join.
The second area relates to long-term support for Ukraine, primarily its Armed Forces, which, Macron said, remain — and will continue to remain — the first line of defence and deterrence against aggression.
“For this reason, we have planned, on the basis of a volunteer force format, an 800,000-strong force, with training, capabilities and all the necessary means so that it can deter any new aggression,” he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy explained the next steps following the signing of the declaration on multinational forces in Ukraine. According to him, the signing of the document is only the first step that opens the wider process.
“These documents will also be legally binding. In most of the countries of the ‘coalition of the willing’, parliamentary approval is required. So after the declaration, after this process, countries will go to their parliaments. We are counting on this support,” Zelenskyy said.
Paris summit
On 6 January, Ukraine’s international partners gathered in Paris for high-level talks on future security guarantees for Kyiv in the event of a ceasefire in the war with Russia. The meeting focused on forging a unified position between Ukraine, Europe and the United States, as well as on the potential deployment of foreign forces once a truce is in place.
Officials involved in the talks said leaders are now expected to finalise draft security agreements covering both military guarantees and Ukraine’s long-term reconstruction. These texts are due to be taken forward to Washington, where further negotiations will be held with US participation. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said documents formalising a joint US-European position could be signed in the near future, possibly in the US capital.
Sky News reported that allies are preparing to take on legally binding commitments to respond in the event of renewed Russian aggression. Ahead of the summit, Reuters published a draft declaration outlining military, intelligence and logistical support for Ukraine, alongside diplomatic measures and additional sanctions against Russia. The draft, however, has yet to be formally approved by the participating leaders.
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