While in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, delegations from Ukraine and the United States will talk today about possible negotiations between Ukraine and Russia to end the war, France is stepping up on the "western diplomatic front", reported Agence France-Presse, quoted by BTA.
Today, French President Emmanuel Macron is gathering in Paris the chiefs of general staff of countries willing to take responsibility for Ukraine and strengthening European security. Among the participants are military representatives of 30 EU and/or NATO countries, including Great Britain and Turkey. The meeting will take place in close coordination with NATO's military command.
Last week, the Ukrainian president called for a ceasefire in the air and sea in order to start talks with Moscow to achieve a lasting peace. The idea was mentioned by both Macron and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. But Moscow considers it completely unacceptable because, according to Russian diplomacy, the conflict will resume.
Recently, the idea of deploying European military personnel in Ukraine to monitor whether the peace there is respected after the possible entry into force of a peace agreement has also been mentioned. Paris and London, in particular, are closely involved in discussions on implementing this option. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has organized a video conference meeting on Saturday with the leaders of countries willing to help prevent the resumption of hostilities in Ukraine after a ceasefire agreement comes into force.
But the contours of the mission of the coalition of countries willing to send their troops to Ukraine need to be defined. This is exactly what will be addressed during these discussions.
After today's meeting, on Wednesday, French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu will gather his colleagues from the E5 group - France, Germany, Britain, Italy and Poland, as well as representatives of the EU and NATO. The Ukrainian Defense Minister will also join the video conference meeting. The talks will cover aid for Ukraine and the rearmament of Europe.
EU countries have already given the green light to a plan aimed at mobilizing up to 800 billion euros over 4 years to strengthen the continent's defenses and to help Ukraine.
On Friday, Macron will also gather French defense industrialists, who have been urged to accelerate the pace since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and who now need to prepare for new orders.
And the government will have to convince French parliamentarians at a time of crippled state finances that France will have to allocate 100 billion euros to defense per year instead of 50 billion euros.