Macron says allies agree 'robust' security guarantees for Ukraine; Germany could join multinational force

by AFP Staff Writers
Paris, France (AFP) Jan 6, 2026

European and US allies of Ukraine on Tuesday agreed "robust" security guarantees for Kyiv to come into force after an eventual ceasefire in Russia's war against the pro-Western country that would see the United States lead a truce monitoring mechanism, French President Emmanuel Macron said.

Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky signed a declaration of intent that foresees Britain, France and other European allies deploying troops on Ukrainian territory after a ceasefire.

Macron said after the meeting in Paris that the moves represented "robust security guarantees for a solid and lasting peace", hailing an "operational convergence" among allies including the United States.

The security guarantees are "the key to ensuring that a peace agreement can never mean a Ukrainian surrender and that a peace agreement can never mean a new threat to Ukraine" from Russia, Macron said.

Against the background of tensions between Europe and the US on Greenland and Venezuela, US envoy Steve Witkoff, who was present at the talks in Paris, said "a lot of progress" had been made.

Allies have "largely finished" agreeing security guarantees for Ukraine "so that the people of Ukraine know that when this ends, it ends forever," he said, flanked by President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner who was also present at the talks.

Witkoff said that "land options" will be the most "critical issue" and "hopefully we will be able to come up with certain compromises with regard to that".

Starmer said for his part that following a ceasefire the UK and France will establish "military hubs" across Ukraine and "build protected facilities for weapons and military equipment to support Ukraine's defensive needs".

But he warned: "We can only get to a peace deal if (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is ready to make compromises. Putin is not showing he is ready for peace."

"This only hardens our resolve," he added.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, whose nation has been wary of contributing troops to a multinational force, said German forces could join to monitor a Ukraine ceasefire, but based in a neighbouring country.

"We will certainly have to make compromises", he said in Paris, adding that "we will not achieve textbook diplomatic solutions".

Germany could join multinational force from outside Ukraine: Merz
Paris, France (AFP) Jan 6, 2026 - German forces could join a future multinational force to monitor a Ukraine ceasefire, but based on territory bordering the war-battered country, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Tuesday.

"Germany will keep contributing politically, financially and militarily. This could for example include deploying forces to Ukraine on neighbouring NATO territory after a ceasefire," he said.

Once a US-backed monitoring force is agreed, the German government and parliament "will decide on the nature and extent of a German contribution", he said.

For now, Berlin was "not ruling anything out", Merz said in Paris.

Germany, with its dark history of war and the Holocaust, has long been more reluctant than many of its NATO allies to deploy forces abroad.

But Merz has signalled continued strong support for Ukraine, sharply raised German defence spending and announced plans to build up the Bundeswehr into Europe's strongest conventional army.

His suggestion of deploying German troops to neighbouring NATO territory did not go as far as France and Britain, which offered more explicit promises of support.

"Today, in the fourth year of the war, Germany is Kyiv's strongest supporter," he said. "It will also assume its responsibility for Ukraine's security after a ceasefire."

In the ongoing push for a peace deal, Merz said that Ukraine and its European allies "will have to make compromises".

"We will not come as close to the ideal of a just peace as we would like. We will not achieve a textbook diplomatic solution. Given the current geopolitical circumstances, it will require a great deal from us in the coming days, weeks, and perhaps months."

Merz said that "with tenacity, realism and foresight", Europe could achieve "a peace in Europe that closely connects Ukraine and Europeans, and one which we can shape together".