(Tribune News Service) — The U.K. and France are scrambling to bolster Ukraine’s negotiating position as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks to force through a settlement in its war with Russia.

Europe’s only two nuclear powers are trying to pull together a plan to help guarantee security for Kyiv with Moscow demanding that Ukraine’s military be massively scaled back as part of any settlement.

Defense ministers of Europe’s five main military powers held talks in Paris on Wednesday to coordinate on support for Ukraine amid American pullback.

“A broad consensus is emerging that the first security guarantee for Ukraine is the Ukrainian army itself, its capacities, its armament, its training,” French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said at a press conference in Paris on Wednesday, alongside defense chiefs from Poland, Germany, Italy and the U.K.

“Long-lasting security guarantees will depend on the capacities we’ll be able to provide Ukraine,” Lecornu said.

Lecornu warned that Europe needed to move fast on space technology and reduce its reliance on Starlink.

‘Step in rapidly’

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius welcomed the U.S. announcement to continue military support for Ukraine but added that Europe is able to replace or substitute certain U.S. aid and services including Starlink.

“We can step in rapidly for example with ammunition but also with satellite communication if this should be needed,” Pistorius told reporters.

The defense ministers will meet again next week to continue discussions on “military planning” if there’s a settlement, U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey said Wednesday.

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron are leading discussions between 37 countries to form a “coalition of the willing” in Ukraine if a peace settlement is agreed. It would see nations across Europe, the Commonwealth and Asia contribute either funding, troops, aircraft or naval vessels to help protect Ukraine from the prospect of further Russian aggression.

In a separate meeting Tuesday, non-NATO allies including Australia, Japan and New Zealand joined talks with military chiefs from dozens of European countries as well as Canada in Paris, according to people familiar with the matter.

Security guarantees

The proposed “reassurance force” they aim to bring together is an essential security guarantee for Ukraine and any effort by Russia to block NATO countries from its membership would be a deliberate attempt to derail prospects of a lasting peace, British officials told Bloomberg.

Each country was asked what they’d be willing to provide to the coalition, and those that ruled out sending troops to Ukraine have been asked if they’re willing for land forces to be stationed in its neighboring European countries and what other contributions they could make, including sending minehunters, ships, aircraft, tanks and providing intelligence, the people said.

Defense officials believe stationing European troops inside Ukraine is an integral part of a durable, lasting peace solution. Still, Russia has been clear that it won’t accept the presence of troops from NATO countries in Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday that the presence of NATO troops in any capacity on Ukrainian soil is a threat to Russia, according to Tass.

Military chiefs will present Starmer and Macron with more detailed options for a peacekeeping force in the coming days, to be discussed with other leaders on a virtual call this weekend, the people said.

They will then present them to Trump, who they hope will be persuaded to commit U.S. security guarantees in the form of airpower, intelligence and border surveillance without having to lend American troops to the peacekeeping force, they said.

“If the U.S. chose not to participate, then the force would have much less intelligence and much less protection against ballistic missiles,” said Ben Barry, senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. That’s because U.S. intelligence, particularly from space, as well as its ability to shoot down ballistic missiles and rapidly deploy forces, dwarfs European capabilities, he said.

Britain and France also don’t want the U.S. to concede to Putin’s demands to demilitarize Ukraine and force President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to hold elections before a permanent peace deal is agreed. Starmer said Wednesday that the abduction of Ukrainian children by Russia must also be dealt with at part of a settlement.

Officials believe a U.S.-Ukraine accord for a 30-day halt in the conflict, coupled with developing plans for the peacekeeping force have increased pressure on Russia to make its own concessions. Still, there are strong concerns that Russia will reject a peace settlement and use the ceasefire period to re-arm and launch further attacks on Ukraine, the people cautioned.

With assistance from Michael Nienaber and Donato Paolo Mancini.

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