Emmanuel Macron Photo: Thibault Camus/ AP
French President Emmanuel Macron plans to hold talks with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw on Thursday to discuss further European support for Ukraine in the face of possible changes in the US political situation. This was reported by the dpa news agency.
European leaders are concerned that after Donald Trump takes office as US president on 20 January, he may put pressure on Ukraine and Russia during the negotiations. In particular, Trump may threaten Ukraine with a cut-off of military aid if it refuses to negotiate. On the other hand, he could warn Russian President Vladimir Putin to increase military support for Kyiv if the Kremlin refuses to come to the negotiating table.
It has become known that a number of NATO countries have been holding confidential talks for several weeks now on the possibility of monitoring the ceasefire in Ukraine. France and the United Kingdom are likely to take the lead in these discussions. In the context of this topic, the possibility of deploying a peacekeeping mission to Ukraine after the war is over is also being discussed.
According to unconfirmed reports, Macron and Tusk are also expected to discuss the deployment of a peacekeeping force of foreign troops in post-war Ukraine. However, the exact scope of this mission remains uncertain. According to information provided by a French expert, such a mission could include up to five brigades, totalling around 40,000 troops, with Poland possibly taking command of one of them. However, no official confirmation of this information has been provided by the French or Polish authorities.
Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said that the deployment of Polish troops in Ukraine is currently ruled out. Although the topic is being discussed in the press, there is no official confirmation of the intention to deploy European troops in Ukraine.
At the end of last week, Emmanuel Macron met with Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Paris during the opening of Notre Dame Cathedral. At the meeting, Trump called for a ceasefire and urged Putin to take steps to resolve the conflict.
