Macron's 'reassurance forces' plan met with stern Russian rebuke
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has announced the potential deployment of international forces in Ukraine if a ceasefire is reached. He referred to these as "reassurance forces," though Russia has already voiced strong opposition. "There is a long way to go before sending troops. It's more about showing Europe's determination—a trial balloon," retired Colonel Maciej Matysiak says.
A summit took place on Thursday in Paris with leaders from around 30 countries that support Ukraine, known as the "coalition of the willing." They discussed possible solutions to end the conflict. Following the meeting, the French president announced that a French-British mission will soon head to Ukraine to prepare the future framework for the Ukrainian army in the event of a potential deployment of international forces, should a ceasefire be achieved between Kyiv and Moscow.
The objective is to identify "strategic locations" where Western military forces could be stationed. However, Macron stressed that these would neither be "peacekeeping forces" nor "combat units on the front line."
"Macron releases a trial balloon"
The "reassurance forces" would cover sea, air, and land areas. Macron stated that the countries' foreign ministers participating in the Paris meeting have three weeks to prepare a proposal for monitoring the ceasefire in Ukraine. At the same time, the French president acknowledged that there is no consensus on this matter yet.
According to retired Colonel Maciej Matysiak, former deputy head of the Military Counterintelligence Service and an expert at the Stratpoints foundation, such declarations allow Europe, particularly the French president, to build their political narrative.
- The United States is in discussions with Russia and Ukraine, and Europe seems to be sidelined in these talks. According to retired Colonel Matysiak, Macron releases a trial balloon in the form of a declaration of sending "reassurance forces," testing how far we can go.
And he adds that we do not currently know which soldiers, if any, will eventually be sent to Ukraine.
However, operational planning has begun to ensure it is not just a declaration. Macron mentions that troops are to appear after peace is established; however, currently, no concrete arrangements have been made between Kyiv and Moscow. Both sides have not even gathered for a common negotiation table, notes the expert.
France and the UK at the negotiating table
Following the conclusion of the Paris summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasised that there is no alternative to Europe's involvement in peace talks regarding Ukraine.
- The Ukrainian stance is obvious: Europe should have a seat at the negotiation table when discussing ending the war. We do not consider alternatives - he stated at a press conference in Paris.
Zelensky argues that Europe, given its size, should have clear representation at this table. All our partners in Europe agreed that France and the UK will represent them, added the Ukrainian president.
The Kremlin's clear opposition
Meanwhile, the spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, stated that deploying peacekeeping forces in Ukraine could be a pretext for initiating hostilities between Russia and NATO.
- Russia is categorically opposed to such a scenario, which threatens a direct clash between Russia and NATO, argued Zakharova.
