French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday is to host European leaders including President Volodymyr Zelensky for a summit aimed at boosting Ukrainian security ahead of any potential ceasefire with Russia.
The meeting is seeking to set out what security guarantees Europe can offer Ukraine once a ceasefire deal is agreed, including the possible deployment of military forces by a so-called "coalition of the willing".
Twenty-seven heads of state and government are due to attend the Paris summit, which is to get underway with their arrival at the Elysee Palace from 0800 GMT. Macron is due to give a news conference in the afternoon summing up the discussions.
Key NATO member Turkey, currently under scrutiny due to protests at home, is due to be represented by Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz.
Speaking alongside Zelensky in Paris on Wednesday ahead of the talks, Macron said this was now a "decisive phase to put an end to the war of aggression" waged by Russia against Ukraine as the United States under Donald Trump reaches out to Moscow in search of a deal.
Macron also announced a new French two billion euro ($2.2 billion) military aid package for Ukraine, with Paris ready to rapidly ship existing hardware from its stocks.
He said Russia must accept a 30-day ceasefire offered by Ukraine "without preconditions", accusing Moscow of still showing a "desire for war" and hailing Kyiv for having "taken the risk of peace".
He also accused Russia of making "new conditions" and not responding to the ceasefire offer.
"Ukraine has clearly expressed to the United States its agreement to a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire, even though it is the victim of the aggression," said Macron.
"We expect the same commitment from Russia."
Thursday's meeting comes after the White House said that Russia and Ukraine had agreed on the contours of a possible ceasefire in the Black Sea in separate talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia.
Kyiv confirmed this, as did Moscow – though it said that it had set conditions, including demanding sanctions relief affecting its agricultural sector from the United States.
On Wednesday US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said these conditions will be evaluated, and cautioned that a peace deal "won't be simple".
"It'll take time, but at least we're on that road and we're talking about these things," Rubio said.
No time frame for the potential peace deal has been given yet.
Zelensky said he was expecting "strong decisions" from Thursday's meeting, which was also due to be attended by the likes of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
"Now is definitely not the time to reduce pressure on Russia or weaken our unity for the sake of peace," he said.
Card in the hands
As of Wednesday, both Russian and Ukrainian authorities have been accusing each other of trying to derail this initial agreement.
Pointing the finger at Russia for "dragging" out the conflict despite the American peace overtures, Macron said Moscow "wants this war to continue".
"We need to put pressure on Russia so that the war ends indeed," he said.
Once a settlement is agreed, one key element could be sending European forces to ensure Russia does not attack again.
Zelensky said that it was too early to discuss specific roles of future European forces in Ukraine, after a key aide, Igor Zhovkva, told AFP in Paris that Kyiv needed a robust European presence and not just peacekeepers.
The Ukrainian leader said the question now was about "who will be ready" to take part in such missions.
"It's too early to say," Zelensky added, referring to what role the forces could play.
Macron stressed that European forces would not be in Ukraine to fight, calling it a "pacificist approach."
European force could be "a card in the hand of the Ukrainians" that would "dissuade the Russians" from launching another attack, he said, adding that they would not be on the front line.
And despite the diplomatic exchanges of recent weeks, South Korea's military said Thursday that Pyongyang had deployed 3,000 additional troops to Russia this year as "reinforcements" – in addition to the 11,000 already sent.
"In addition to manpower, North Korea continues to supply missiles, artillery equipment, and ammunition," a report from South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff added.
By Stuart WILLIAMS-AFP
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