French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with his US counterpart Donald Trump ahead of the summit being hosted in Paris, according to reports.
French President Emmanuel Macron stated that France and Britain are taking the lead in efforts to send a reassurance force to Ukraine, aiming to deter future Russian aggression. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer emphasized that Vladimir Putin should be given a deadline to make progress on a ceasefire in Ukraine.
At a press conference, Starmer also mentioned that defence chiefs from the UK, France, and Germany will meet in Ukraine to discuss continued support for Kyiv. He added that the British Parliament should have a say in any decision regarding the deployment of UK troops to Ukraine.
According to the BBC, PM Starmer also announced that UK Defence Secretary John Healey will chair a meeting next month to discuss increasing military aid to Ukraine, stressing that "peace comes through strength."
Earlier today, French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with his US counterpart Donald Trump ahead of the summit being hosted in Paris, according to reports.
It's not yet clear what was discussed in the meeting, but in an earlier statement Macron suggested a European peacekeeping force could "respond" if Ukraine was attacked by Russia. In a post on X this morning, the French president shared an image of the European leaders gathered for the summit, and wrote: "Building a robust peace for Ukraine and Europe."
Ceasefire Talks
Earlier on March 24, and Russian negotiators on Monday sat down for talks in Saudi Arabia on a partial ceasefire in Ukraine, hours after a round of negotiations between US and Ukrainian negotiators, Russian news reports said.
The state Tass and RIA-Novosti news agencies said the negotiations began in Riyadh. The meeting is expected to be followed by another contact between US and Ukrainian teams.
The separate meetings are set to discuss details of a pause in long-range attacks against energy facilities and civilian infrastructure and a halt on attacks in the Black Sea to ensure safe commercial shipping.