Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, left, and France's President Emmanuel Macron at the signing of the declaration on deploying post-ceasefire forces in Ukraine, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on January 6, 2026. Photo: AFP / Pool / Ludovic Marin
European and US allies of Ukraine have agreed "robust" security guarantees for Kyiv to come into force after an eventual ceasefire in Russia's war against the pro-Western country that would see the United States lead a truce monitoring mechanism, French President Emmanuel Macron said.
Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky signed a declaration of intent that foresees Britain, France and other European allies deploying troops on Ukrainian territory after a ceasefire.
Macron said after the meeting in Paris that the moves represented "robust security guarantees for a solid and lasting peace", hailing an "operational convergence" among allies, including the United States.
New Zealand also participated in the talks.
French President Emmanuel Macron hosted the talks in Paris. Photo: AFP / Pool / Ludovic Marin
The security guarantees are "the key to ensuring that a peace agreement can never mean a Ukrainian surrender and that a peace agreement can never mean a new threat to Ukraine" from Russia, Macron said.
Against the background of tensions between Europe and the US on Greenland and Venezuela, US envoy Steve Witkoff, who was present at the talks in Paris, said "a lot of progress" had been made.
Allies have "largely finished" agreeing security guarantees for Ukraine "so that the people of Ukraine know that when this ends, it ends forever", he said, flanked by President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner who was also present at the talks.
Witkoff said that "land options" will be the most "critical issue" and "hopefully we will be able to come up with certain compromises with regard to that".
Starmer said for his part that following a ceasefire the UK and France will establish "military hubs" across Ukraine and "build protected facilities for weapons and military equipment to support Ukraine's defensive needs".
But he warned: "We can only get to a peace deal if (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is ready to make compromises. Putin is not showing he is ready for peace."
"This only hardens our resolve," he added.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, whose nation has been wary of contributing troops to a multinational force, said German forces could join to monitor a Ukraine ceasefire, but based in a neighbouring country.
"We will certainly have to make compromises", he said in Paris, adding that "we will not achieve textbook diplomatic solutions".
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, France's President Emmanuel Macron and Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer at a press conference after the talks in Paris. Photo: AFP / Pool / Ludovic Marin
Zelensky hails 'substantive' declaration
President Volodymyr Zelensky has welcomed security guarantees for Ukraine that were put forward by allies and would come into force in the event of a ceasefire in the war against invading Russian forces.
"It's important that today the coalition has substantive documents. These are not just words. There is concrete content: a joint declaration by all the coalition countries and a trilateral declaration by France, Britain, and Ukraine," Zelensky said.
He made the comments in Paris at a signing ceremony after inking the declaration alongside Macron and Starmer.
The declaration of intent would see Britain, France and other European allies deploy troops to Ukraine after a ceasefire.
"It has been defined how those forces will be managed and at what levels command will be exercised," Zelensky added.
"Monitoring procedures must be defined; it must be absolutely clear how the appropriate strength and size of the Ukrainian army will be supported and financed," the Ukrainian leader said.
He added the most significant issue still to be resolved among allies was "the territorial question," referring to Russian demands that Kyiv give up the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine.
Zelensky said that as long as Russian attacks continued, Ukraine would need help ramping up its air defence systems to fend off aerial bombardments on cities and critical infrastructure.
-AFP / RNZ
