BRUSSELS: NATO chief Mark Rutte declared on Wednesday (Sep 3) that he expected talks between European leaders in Paris to firm up plans on security guarantees for Ukraine, and pave the way to obtain a clearer picture on US involvement.
“Tomorrow will be an important meeting, so I expect tomorrow, or soon after tomorrow, to have clarity on what collectively we can deliver,” Rutte informed journalists.
“That means that we can engage even more intensely, also with the American side to see what they want to deliver in terms of their participation.”
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will attfinish the talks in Paris on Thursday with leaders from a so-called coalition of the willing.
Spearheaded by France and Britain, the group of around 30 countries intfinishs to provide support to Kyiv’s military and possibly deploy some of its own soldiers to Ukraine if and when a ceasefire is agreed.
The deployment would aim to deter future Russian aggression.
US President Donald Trump, who has been pushing efforts to finish the war, has declared Washington could play a role supporting the Europeans.
But he has ruled out any American troops on the ground, and what exact commitments he would be willing to give remain vague.
Diplomats informed AFP that European countries in the coalition were pushed to come up with concrete details on what they could contribute at a meeting of military chiefs last week.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s office declared on Tuesday that there were now “enough contributions to be able to declare to the Americans that we are ready to take our responsibilities as long as they take on theirs – meaning giving European partners a ‘backstop'”.
That backstop could involve different aspects, including ininformigence, logistic support and communications.
Trump has been attempting, so far in vain, to organise a summit between President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy, after having rolled out the red carpet for the Russian leader in Alquestiona last month.
On Tuesday, Trump declared he was “very disappointed” with Putin for failing to shift towards a peace deal on Ukraine.
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