Tue Feb 18 15:56:37 UTC 2025: **European Leaders Divided on Ukraine Peacekeeping Mission After Paris Summit**
PARIS — A meeting of European leaders in Paris on February 17, 2025, failed to produce a consensus on deploying peacekeeping troops to Ukraine. The summit, convened by French President Emmanuel Macron following U.S.-Russia talks that excluded Ukraine and Europe, focused on security guarantees for Ukraine and ending the conflict.
While Macron stressed the need for a lasting peace, emphasizing the necessity of ending Russian aggression and providing strong security guarantees for Ukraine, several leaders expressed reservations. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz deemed discussions on peacekeeping troops “highly inappropriate” at this stage of the war, citing the upcoming German election and emphasizing the importance of unified NATO action. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also ruled out Polish troop deployments.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer indicated a willingness to consider sending British peacekeeping troops to Ukraine as part of a broader, lasting peace agreement, but insisted on a U.S. security guarantee as a crucial deterrent against future Russian aggression. He also called for increased European burden-sharing in defense with the United States.
Other leaders offered varying perspectives. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson considered peacekeeping troops a possibility *after* the war’s conclusion, while Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof stressed the importance of European contributions to peace negotiations.
The divergent views highlight the divisions among European nations regarding their involvement in the Ukraine conflict and underscore the need for a unified approach towards achieving a lasting peace. The lack of a joint position on peacekeeping troops reflects the complex geopolitical landscape and the challenges in coordinating a response to the ongoing crisis.
First Piper 