European leaders discussed increasing defense spending and strengthening security guarantees for Ukraine at an emergency summit in Paris. The summit follows US President Donald Trump’s intention to hold peace talks with Russia without European participation.
The meeting was attended by the leaders of France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Poland and the Netherlands, as well as representatives of NATO and the European Union. After the summit, the need for the EU and NATO to invest more in defense and provide Kiev with reliable security guarantees was stressed. French President Emmanuel Macron said that Europe must invest “better, more and together” in defense. He also stressed the need for Russia to stop its aggression and the importance of strong and reliable security guarantees for Ukraine. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that US security guarantees for Ukraine are the most effective way to deter Russia and that he would consider the deployment of British troops in Ukraine in the event of a lasting peace agreement. On the other hand, countries such as Germany, Poland and Spain were cautious about the idea of sending peacekeepers to Ukraine. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that discussions on this issue were premature. At the summit, there was general agreement that Europe should increase its defense spending and strengthen its security commitments to Ukraine. However, differences of opinion persist on issues such as the deployment of peacekeepers.
