“We seek a strong and lasting peace in Ukraine… This must be accompanied by strong and credible security guarantees for the Ukrainians” Emmanuel Macron, French President

Agencies Paris

French President Emmanuel Macron held discussions with US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and emphasised the importance of a strong and lasting peace. He stressed that Russia must end its aggression, and that this must be accompanied by "strong and credible" security guarantees for Ukraine. Sharing a post on X, Macron wrote, "After bringing together several European leaders, I have just spoken with President @realDonaldTrump and then with President @ZelenskyyUa. We seek a strong and lasting peace in Ukraine. To achieve this, Russia must end its aggression, and this must be accompanied by strong and credible security guarantees for the Ukrainians. Otherwise, there is a risk that this ceasefire will end up like the Minsk agreements." 

The post added, "We will work on this together with all Europeans, Americans, and Ukrainians. This is the key. We are convinced that Europeans must invest better, more, and together in their security and defense--both for today and for the future." 

Zelenskyy also shared details of his conversation with Macron following his discussions with European leaders about Ukraine's security situation. Zelenskyy reiterated the commitment to securing robust and reliable security guarantees for Ukraine, emphasising that any agreement lacking these guarantees--such as a fragile ceasefire--would only enable further deception by Russia and risk reigniting conflict.

He has already said that any agreement between the US and Russia without Ukraine would not be acceptable. Meanwhile,  UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who had expressed his willingness to commit British forces on the ground alongside other nations if a lasting peace agreement is reached,  said, "I am prepared to consider committing British forces on the ground alongside others if there's a lasting peace agreement. But there must be a US backstop because a US security guarantee is the only way to effectively deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again." He was speaking  at the end of an emergency summit in Paris.