Zelensky States He Lacks Clear Security Pledge from Allies
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says European allies have not given him sound guarantees that they will protect his country in the case of a new Russian aggression.
"I am asking this very question to every one of our allies and I have not received a clear, unambiguous answer yet," he told reporters on midweek.
His comments come a day after the UK and France signed a statement of purpose on stationing forces in Ukraine if a peace deal to conclude the conflict with Moscow is finalized.
However, full security guarantees have yet to be solidified. The US, which has been spearheading initiatives to end the invasion, was reported to have abstained from signing such a commitment at discussions held in the French capital on Tuesday.
Details of the Paris Talks
After the Paris talks, which involved some 30 countries that comprise the so-called Coalition of the Willing, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the two nations would "set up operational bases across Ukraine" to deter future invasion, while France's President Macron later said thousands of troops may be sent.
Allies proposed that the US would take the lead in overseeing any ceasefire. But the central sticking point of territorial concessions that Ukraine is being asked to grant to Russia as a component of the settlement terms are continuing to be negotiated.
Moscow has not yet commented on the announcement made in the city of Paris.
Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated a comprehensive military assault of Ukraine in the early months of 2022, and Russian forces now occupies about one-fifth of Ukrainian territory.
The President's Evolving Stance
Sir Keir described the joint statement as "an essential component of our dedication to stand with Ukraine for the foreseeable future".
He continued: "It establishes the pathway for the legal framework under which British, French and partner forces could operate on Ukraine's territory, securing Ukraine's skies and seas, and rebuilding Ukraine's armed forces for the years to come."
Zelensky hailed that agreement as a "significant leap of progress".
A day later, however, he appeared less optimistic.
"I perceive the determination, the political will, and that the partners are ready, and the partners are ready to give us strong sanctions, powerful defense assurances," he said when questioned if nations in Europe would come to Ukraine's aid.
"But as long as we lack such security guarantees - formally ratified, endorsed by legislatures, supported by the United States Congress - this question cannot be answered. And should they materialize, you still have to rely first and foremost on your inherent capabilities."
Persistent Challenges and Fighting
Negotiations in Paris were also notable owing to the attendance of US President Donald Trump's peace envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
Witkoff said the participating countries "mostly completed" their work on agreeing security protocols.
Recently, Zelensky said a peace deal was "90% ready".
Territorial concessions and security guarantees have been at the center of unresolved issues for negotiators.
Putin has repeatedly warned that Ukraine's military must withdraw from all of Ukraine's eastern Donbas or Russia will seize it, rejecting any compromise over how to end the war.
Zelensky has so far ruled out ceding any territory, but has proposed that Ukraine could redeploy its forces to an established line - but only if Russia reciprocated the action.
Moscow currently controls about 75% of the Donetsk region, and some nearly all of the neighbouring Luhansk. The pair of oblasts form the industrial Donbas region.
Attacks have been escalating against Ukrainian cities - with a focus on energy infrastructure. Moscow is also achieving incremental advances in seizing additional Ukrainian land.
Ukrainian forces have retaliated at Russian targets with drones, albeit with more limited success.
