Paris, 27 March 2025 (dpa/MIA) - No agreement was reached on Thursday on deploying European forces to secure a future ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia at a Paris summit of Kiev's allies.

The deployment of these troops is a British-French proposal, said French President Emmanuel Macron after the discussions of the so-called "coalition of the willing" in which senior representatives from 31 countries participated.

"These reassurance forces are a French-British proposal," Macron said. "It is desired by Ukraine and noted by several member states that have expressed their willingness to join," he added.

However, the proposal was not unanimously adopted, according to the French president.

The military chiefs of staff from France and the United Kingdom will travel to Ukraine in the next few days to assess military needs that Europe can help with, Macron stated.

He added that Ukraine knows what it needs, including critical areas where it wants these European forces deployed. Nothing is excluded and they will be looking at land, air and sea forces, Macron said.

Europeans have been scrambling to come to Ukraine's aid as US President Donald Trump takes a more deferential approach to Moscow, calling into question Washington's long-term support for Kiev.

Germany's Scholz cautious about peacekeeping force

Acting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz once again expressed caution about Germany's participation in a possible peacekeeping force in Ukraine.

He pointed out that it is not yet clear whether and in what form such a peacekeeping force will exist.

"In this respect, we are concentrating on what is immediately at hand," he said.

Scholz said this included further strengthening the Ukrainian armed forces, adding: "Germany has been a leader in Europe in this regard in recent years and will remain so."

The outgoing chancellor also rejected the relaxation of sanctions demanded by Russia, saying such an act would be a "serious mistake."

Scholz criticized Moscow for repeatedly adding demands in the negotiations on a ceasefire, after the latest US-mediated talks in Saudi Arabia.

"From this it can be clearly seen that Russia is not currently interested in real peace," he said.

Von der Leyen and Starmer call to strengthen Ukraine's military

Despite the lack of consensus, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the summit as further evidence of Europe's unity. and emphasized the need to strengthen the Ukrainian armed forces.

Von der Leyen stated, "To achieve peace, Ukraine must be strong, Europe must be strong."

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer accused Russia of playing for time in the ceasefire negotiations.

He also stressed the need to increase economic pressure on Russia through tougher sanctions and highlighted the willingness of many of the "coalition of the willing" to deploy troops for peacekeeping, even though no concrete plans were presented.

Photo: epa