Taiwo Popoola
French President Emmanuel Macron said the stationing of peacekeeping troops in Ukraine, as proposed by Britain and France as part of a ceasefire agreement with Russia, is a question for Kyiv to decide and not Moscow.
Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer have reportedly been rushing to consolidate military support for Ukraine as US President Donald Trump presses for a peace deal with Russia.
It could be recalled that Starmer hosted a virtual meeting on Saturday with Macron and other non-US allies of Ukraine.
“Ukraine is sovereign. If it asks for allied forces to be on its territory, it’s not something for Russia to accept or not,” Macron said.
Russia has repeatedly rejected the idea of soldiers from countries belonging to the NATO alliance being stationed in Ukraine.
According to Macron, any peacekeeping force would consist of a few thousand troops per country to be deployed at key locations, adding that several European and non-European countries were interested in participating.
However, like other aspects of a potential truce, the form of any peacekeeping force remains uncertain.
Finland’s President Alexander Stubb has said that any firm commitments would come once there was a clear plan.
“There are anywhere from zero to 50 different ways they can help, boots on the ground is only one way. You can talk about intelligence, you can talk about different types of things but it’s too early to commit right now,” he said.
Britain and France both stated that they could send peacekeepers to Ukraine, while Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his country was also open to requests.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he supported in principle Washington’s proposal for a 30-day ceasefire with Ukraine but that his forces would fight on until several crucial conditions were worked out.
