Sawt Falasteen - Macron hosts Europe's 'coalition of willing' to protect Ukraine

The meeting is seeking to set out what security guarantees Europe can offer Ukraine once there is agreement on a ceasefire to end the over three-year war, including the possible deployment of military forces by a so-called "coalition of the willing".

Twenty-seven heads of state and government, including British Premier Keir Starmer and Italy's Giorgia Meloni, were attending the summit, which began with a family photo before several hours of talks commenced.

Macron was due to hold a news conference in the afternoon and other leaders were expected to hold their own briefings.

Key NATO member Turkey, currently under scrutiny due to protests at home, was represented by Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz.

Macron and Starmer have taken the lead in seeking to forge a coordinated European response to protecting Ukraine both during the current conflict and in its eventual aftermath after US President Donald Trump shook the world by opening direct negotiations with Russia.

As well as boosting Ukraine's own armed forces, a key pillar of ensuring security and prevent any further Russian invasion could be to deploy European troops to Ukraine, although the modalities of this are far from clear.

The United States "is playing a leading role by convening the ceasefire talks", said Starmer.

"(President) Zelensky has demonstrated his commitment repeatedly, and Europe is stepping up to play its part to defend Ukraine's future."

- 'Strong decisions' -

But Starmer said that so far Russian President Vladimir Putin "has shown he's not a serious player in these peace talks" and that his "promises are hollow" on any eventual ceasefire with Ukraine.

Ahead of the summit, Macron, Starmer and Zelensky held trilateral talks at the Elysee Palace.

Thursday's meeting comes after the White House said that Russia and Ukraine had agreed on the contours of a possible ceasefire in the Black Sea, during parallel talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia.

Kyiv confirmed this, as did Moscow -- although it said that it had set conditions, including demanding the United States lift sanction affecting its agricultural sector.

Speaking alongside Zelensky in Paris on Wednesday ahead of the talks, Macron said this was now a "decisive phase to put an end to the war of aggression" waged by Russia against Ukraine.

Macron also announced a new French military aid package for Ukraine worth two billion euros ($2.2 billion), with Paris ready to rapidly ship existing hardware from its stocks.

He said Russia must accept a 30-day ceasefire offered by Ukraine "without preconditions", accusing Moscow of still showing a "desire for war" and hailing Kyiv for having "taken the risk of peace".

Zelensky said he was expecting "strong decisions" from Thursday's meeting, adding: "Moscow does not understand any language other than the language of force."

"Now is definitely not the time to reduce pressure on Russia or weaken our unity for the sake of peace," he said.

"We need more strong joint steps to ensure that peace is just and sustainable."

- 'Card in the hands' -

Speaking in Jamaica, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Russia's conditions will be evaluated, and cautioned that a peace deal "won't be simple".

"It'll take time but at least we're on that road and we're talking about these things," Rubio said.

As the detente between Washington and Moscow continues under Trump, the new Russian ambassador to the US, veteran diplomat Alexander Darchiev, arrived in Washington on Wednesday.

He hailed a "window of opportunity" for the two countries.

Zelensky said that it was too early to discuss specific roles for future European forces in Ukraine, after a key aide, Igor Zhovkva, told AFP in Paris that Kyiv needed a robust European presence and not just peacekeepers.

A European force could be "a card in the hand of the Ukrainians" that would "dissuade the Russians" from launching another attack but they would not be on the front line, said Macron.

Despite the diplomatic exchanges of recent weeks, South Korea's military said on Thursday that North Korea had deployed 3,000 additional soldiers to Russia this year as "reinforcements" -- in addition to the 11,000 already sent.

"In addition to manpower, North Korea continues to supply missiles, artillery equipment and ammunition," South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff added.

I.Matar--SF-PST