ATHENS

European leaders, who gathered in Paris upon the call of French President Emmanuel Macron for an emergency meeting on Ukraine on Monday, agreed on continuing to support Ukraine but differed on deploying peacekeepers as suggested by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Commenting after the meeting, Starmer seemed to have stuck with the idea of deploying peacekeeping troops to Ukraine.

"I'm prepared to consider committing British forces on the ground alongside others if there’s a lasting peace agreement,” he said.

However, Starmer added: “There must be a US backstop because a US security guarantee is the only way to effectively deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again.”

Apart from Starmer and Macron, who previously remarked such a scenario could be discussed, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced that his country is open to the idea.

Yet, she underlined that a "ceasefire is not automatically peace, and it's not automatically long-lasting peace.”

What is most important is extensively rearming Denmark and Europe as well as continuing to support Ukraine.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, one of the other participants, voiced a strong opposition to the idea.

“I am frankly quite irritated by these debates,” he said. “People are talking over the heads of Ukrainians about the outcome of peace talks that haven’t even started, that Ukraine hasn’t agreed to, and that weren't even on the table."

Similarly, Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni also expressed opposition to remarks by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on the possibility of sending European peacekeepers to Ukraine.

It would be the most complex and least effective solution, especially without sufficient security guarantees for Ukraine, she added.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez emphasized that any settlement between Ukraine and Russia should not "make the same mistakes as the past" and enable the Kremlin to attack other countries again in the future.

NATO chief Mark Rutte remarked on X: “Europe is ready and willing to step up. To lead in providing security guarantees for Ukraine. Ready and willing to invest a lot more in our security. The details will need to be decided but the commitment is clear.”

Following the meeting, EU Council President Antonio Costa and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen separately shared the same post on X and said: “Today in Paris we reaffirmed that Ukraine deserves peace through strength. Peace respectful of its independence, territorial integrity, with strong security guarantees."

“Europe carries its full share of the military assistance to Ukraine. At the same time, we need a surge in Defence in Europe,” they noted.

Leaders from several major European countries gathered in Paris on Monday at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss transatlantic relations, the situation in Ukraine, possible peace negotiations, and security in Europe.

US-European relations deteriorated this month after Trump initiated direct discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin about Ukraine peace talks without European involvement. At the weekend Munich Security Conference, Keith Kellogg, Trump's special envoy for Russia and Ukraine, confirmed that Europeans would not be invited to planned US-Russia talks on Ukraine peace.

Adding to the tension, US Defense Secretary Hegseth suggested that European countries, not the US, should provide peacekeeping troops to Ukraine. Hegseth specifically stated that any such deployment should be non-NATO and would not be covered under Article 5 (on NATO’s collective defense), stressing that US troops would not be part of any security guarantee arrangements.