French President Emmanuel Macron will host his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky tonight, ahead of a summit of countries committed to guaranteeing a possible peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia, DPA reports, BTA reports.
France and Britain have initiated the creation of the so-called "coalition of the willing", which will include countries ready to provide security guarantees in the event of a possible ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
The concept for this coalition will be finally approved at the upcoming summit in Paris, scheduled for tomorrow.
According to information from DPA, Kiev's Western allies are discussing the possibility of monitoring a demilitarized zone along the border between Russia and Ukraine. Initially, the surveillance will be carried out using satellites and drones, and in the future, it is possible to deploy naval monitoring forces to guarantee freedom of navigation in the Black Sea.
Among the proposals of the Western allies is the use of peacekeeping forces under the auspices of the UN, which would consist exclusively of military personnel from neutral third countries. Later, European forces could be deployed on the western border of Ukraine, and Ukrainian military personnel could receive training programs. The main guarantor of security would be the nuclear superpower of the United States.
The meeting between Macron and Zelensky is expected to begin at 6:00 p.m. (7:00 p.m. Bulgarian time).