Brussels, 25 March 2025 (dpa/MIA) - The United Nations is awaiting talks on a possible peacekeeping mission for Ukraine, though no such mission is yet planned, said Under-Secretary-General Jean-Pierre Lacroix in Brussels on Tuesday.

However, he said he was expecting discussions of the option of deploying UN peacekeepers to monitor a possible future ceasefire.

Lacroix said first, an agreement for a ceasefire and a mandate from the UN Security Council would be needed, before concrete planning could begin. That would mean Russia would also have to agree.

Currently, this scenario is still very, very hypothetical, Lacroix said. Monitoring a ceasefire is no guarantee of security, he added.

A group of European countries describing themselves as the "coalition of the willing" recently discussed a multi-layered security concept to monitor a possible ceasefire in Ukraine.

The states are considering monitoring a possible demilitarized zone on the border between Russia and Ukraine, primarily from the air and with the help of technical means such as satellites and drones, according to a dpa report. Naval units could also be deployed to monitor freedom of navigation in the Black Sea.

But a peacekeeping force in the true sense of the word could be mobilized through the United Nations and consist exclusively of soldiers from impartial third countries.

European armed forces could then be stationed on Ukraine's western border and offer training programmes for Ukrainian partners, for example. The US would be the overarching security guarantor.

The plans come after hasty attempts by US President Donald Trump to force Ukraine and Russia to conclude a ceasefire agreement.

But in Europe there are fears that this would involve Ukraine making a series of concessions and that without credible security guarantees, it could soon fall victim to a further Russian onslaught.

France and Britain have been working with other countries that support Ukraine on a concept for such security guarantees. They plan to finalize these at a summit of the "coalition of the willing" in Paris on Thursday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is among those invited to attend the summit hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Photo: EPA