Paris talks spotlight France–UK leadership on Ukraine, former Polish FM says
This was stated in a comment to an Ukrinform correspondent in Warsaw by Polish expert and former Polish foreign minister Jacek Czaputowicz.
According to him, Paris meeting was another important stage in the political process aimed at establishing peace in Ukraine, following talks at various levels in Geneva, London, Berlin, and Kyiv, but it “did not bring too many concrete outcomes.”
The expert described the next very important element of this process as a meeting in Washington, where the United States is expected to declare its actions within the framework of implementing the Paris Declaration.
“It is still unclear what the provision of security guarantees to Ukraine by the United States will look like in practice, and this is a very important point,” Czaputowicz noted.
He added that this is especially relevant given that details regarding U.S. participation in “support forces in the event of an attack,” as well as intelligence and logistical assistance that had been included in a previous version of the draft declaration, were ultimately removed from it. In addition, contrary to expectations, Washington did not sign the joint declaration, which was adopted only by the countries of the Coalition of the Willing.
The former head of Polish diplomacy expressed the view that this should also be seen through the prism of recent developments around Venezuela and Greenland. On the one hand, Europeans hope to preserve U.S. support on the issue of Ukraine, while on the other hand, Americans will expect “understanding of their interests” from Europe. In this context, he also noted that the U.S. operation in Venezuela further strengthens the position of the United States and the West as a whole, weakening Russia and creating an additional instrument of pressure on it.
At the same time, Czaputowicz very positively assessed yesterday’s agreement between Ukraine, France, and the United Kingdom on the presence of military contingents from those countries in Ukraine.
“The fact that these two countries have declared the deployment of their own forces is a very concrete decision and evidence that they are not afraid of threats from Russia. Everything indicates that some other countries, such as Finland or Spain, will also be inclined to send their contingents,” the expert believes.
He added that the decisions by Paris and London at this stage are very important, also taking into account their status as nuclear powers and permanent members of the UN Security Council.
According to Czaputowicz, the political game will now revolve around whether U.S. President Donald Trump will force Russia to agree to an international military contingent in Ukraine.
“The whole process is aimed at forcing Russia to make a final decision. Europe has done everything President Trump expected. Now we will see whether he can compel Russia to agree to the presence of foreign troops on Ukrainian territory,” the former Polish foreign minister emphasized.
According to him, if Russia does not agree to the presence of troops from European democratic countries such as France or the United Kingdom in Ukraine, this would mean that it has “bad intentions,” and more decisive steps could then be taken against it.
As reported, following the meeting in Paris, the leaders of the Coalition of the Willing, Ukraine, and the United States signed a joint statement titled “Robust Security Guarantees for a Solid and Lasting Peace in Ukraine.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that details on the deployment of foreign troops in Ukraine as part of security guarantees would be announced after they are legally approved by the parliaments of the states involved.
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