Macron: Europe ready to provide security guarantees to Ukraine
Europe is ready to “provide security guarantees to Ukraine and Ukrainians on the day peace is signed” following lengthy preparatory work that has now been completed, Emmanuel Macron announced on Wednesday.
“Europe is ready, for the first time with this level of commitment and intensity,” the French president told reporters at the Élysée Palace, alongside Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
“The question now is whether Russia is sincere in its successive commitments when it proposed peace to the United States of America,” he added on the eve of a summit of the “coalition of the willing” and a planned telephone conversation with Donald Trump.
Deter further aggression
The coalition, chaired by Macron and British prime minister Keir Starmer, brings together 31 countries, mainly European, ready to provide support to the Ukrainian army and even deploy soldiers in Ukraine once a ceasefire is agreed with Moscow, to deter Russia from further aggression.
However, several European countries are calling for a “safety net” from Washington before they commit to concrete action.
The members are in Paris to discuss the issue with Zelensky and will call Trump after the meeting, scheduled for Thursday morning.
"The question now is whether Russia is sincere in its successive commitments when it proposed peace to the United States of America"
Among those present will be European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, European Council president Antonio Costa, NATO secretary general Mark Rutte, Finnish president Alexander Stubb, Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen and Polish prime minister Donald Tusk. Other leaders will join via video link.
A phone call with Trump is scheduled for 14.00, followed by a press conference.
More US troops
“I’m going to talk to him soon, and then I’ll know more or less what we’re going to do,” Trump said on Wednesday evening during a press conference with new Polish president Karol Nawrocki in the Oval Office.
A White House official clarified that the conversation would be with Zelensky. “They will speak tomorrow,” he said.
Following talks with Nawrocki, Trump said he was prepared to send more American troops to Poland.
Nationalist Nawrocki, who is a supporter of Trump and an EU sceptic, took office at the beginning of August and was a guest at the White House on Wednesday.
Trump announced that the American military presence in Poland, which borders Ukraine, would definitely be maintained, and he was willing to send more troops to Poland.
"With American soldiers on Polish territory, we are stronger and we are safe"
“We will deploy more if they want us to. After all, we have close ties with Poland and will help Poland to protect itself,” he said.
The presence of US troops in Poland has long been a thorn in the side of Russian president Vladimir Putin. There are about 10,000 American troops in the country.
“I think we have a strong relationship,” Nawrocki said. “With American soldiers on Polish territory, we are stronger and we are safe.”
Volodymyr Zelensky and Emmanuel Macron before a meeting at the Elysée Palace in Paris, 3 September 2025 © PHOTO ELIOT BLONDET / ABACAPRESS.COM
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