Ukraine needs security guarantees before it can envisage a ceasefire with Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated on Thursday following a meeting with the EU-27.
In this context, he admitted that European guarantees would not be sufficient, and that the participation of the United States was necessary.
On his arrival at the summit, the Ukrainian president called for unity between the United States and the European Union to "save Ukraine," which is about to experience its third winter since the start of the Russian invasion.
Zelensky spoke to the European heads of state and government for several hours. A "renewed sense of urgency" is driving the European Council, according to one source, and Donald Trump's return to the White House in a few weeks' time is no doubt a factor. Trump has said he can end the conflict in 24 hours and has called for talks with Vladimir Putin.
Asked at a press conference about the possibility of a ceasefire with Russia, Zelenskyy stressed that he did not want a frozen conflict on his territory. "We need to know what would happen the next day. That's why we need security guarantees," he said.
These guarantees would ensure that Ukraine does not find itself in a vulnerable situation again, as it did in February 2022. Ideally, they should come from NATO - and therefore also from the United States - because European guarantees alone would not be enough, according to Zelenskyy.
‘There has been no decision on this,’ admitted the Ukrainian president, who added that he had nevertheless sensed a certain amount of political will on the subject.
Among the possible guarantees, the option of sending troops from allied countries in order to secure certain areas in Ukraine was mentioned by French President Emmanuel Macron a week ago. Who would take part in this mission? What would be the reaction in the event of renewed aggression from Russia? These and many other questions remain unanswered.
