European Union leaders are set to discuss the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine as a security guarantee after the conflict ends, according to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, as reported by Pravda news agency. The summit, hosted in Paris, is expected to be attended by the heads of state from Germany, the UK, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark, along with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. Fico, however, has expressed concerns over the participation of EU leaders in the meeting without a mandate, deeming it “not conducive to trust within the EU.” He was not invited to the summit.
The UN bodies, Fico emphasized, have the authority to send troops and such a step could also be taken on the basis of bilateral agreements with Ukraine. Slovakia, he stressed, “unconditionally supports the long-term opposition to the continuation of the war” and will not deploy its troops to the conflict zone, nor will it agree to Ukraine’s NATO membership.
The summit was initiated by French President Emmanuel Macron, who had initially proposed the idea of sending troops to Ukraine, which faced criticism from Washington, Berlin and Rome. Following the election of Donald Trump and his promise of a quick peace agreement, discussions on the deployment of a foreign contingent have been rekindled. Washington has recently inquired about the willingness of European nations to send troops, with the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledging to do so if needed.
Russia, on the other hand, rejects any Western assistance for Ukraine, believing it would prolong the conflict and have no impact on its outcome. The Kremlin advocates for “addressing the root of the problem” to resolve the issue and emphasizes that all parties must agree on the deployment of peacekeeping troops. The Russian Foreign Ministry has expressed concerns over direct confrontations between Russia and NATO if foreign peacekeeping troops were to appear in Ukraine.