By Eve Brennan, Joseph Ataman, and Billy Stockwell of Xenix News
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!French President Emmanuel Macron stated on Tuesday for the first time that security guarantees for Kyiv, led by Europe, would include the US.
Following a virtual “Coalition of the Willing” meeting, which included Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and 25 other global leaders, such as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio for the first time, Macron announced that a working group would begin drafting on Wednesday the contributions allies will make for a reassurance force to position in Ukraine once a ceasefire is reached.
Rubio’s presence is the first instance of a US representative attending a Coalition of the Willing meeting, which an Elysee source highlighted in a briefing as significant, mentioning that the group would soon be renamed the “peace coalition.”
The source indicated that although the specific contributions from Ukrainian allies to a reassurance force have not been established yet, the involvement of the US would probably serve as a “backstop” for other allied forces that would be stationed away from frontline combat areas. France and the UK have been leaders in envisioning how such a deployment might appear.
Macron previously declared that security guarantees for Ukraine, led by Europe, would include Turkish military personnel and naval assets alongside British and French troops.
“The Ukrainians cannot trust that the Russians will not invade again, so there can’t be a ceasefire or peace,” the source stated.
The Elysee source indicated that Rubio during the call recognized the significance of Ukraine independently determining aspects of the proposed peace negotiations, mentioning that the Americans would now present the revised peace plan to the Russians.
The Elysee source additionally stated that “good progress” was achieved in the meeting on Tuesday concerning the utilization of frozen Russian assets in Europe.
A conclusive decision on their utilization – which has divided Europe – will be made at the European Council summit in December, the source mentioned that employing the funds would demonstrate to both Kyiv and Moscow that Ukraine can endure
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