Today's Edition
WARSAW (AFP)
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Thursday said he discussed with French President Emmanuel Macron the possibility of stationing foreign troops in Ukraine in case of a ceasefire, but that Warsaw was not currently "planning any such actions".
Macron for his part called for a path out of Russia's war in Ukraine -- which has been raging for nearly three years -- that takes into account the interests of both Kyiv and the European Union, saying the former's sovereignty and the latter's security were at stake.
Macron's visit to Warsaw came days after he met in Paris with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President-elect Donald Trump, who has said that solving the Ukraine crisis would be his top priority when he takes office next month.
Trump's election has raised fears in Kyiv that he could try to force big concessions on Ukraine in return for a ceasefire.
Tusk said he wanted to "take this opportunity to end speculation about the potential presence of troops from one country or another in Ukraine once a ceasefire or peace has been agreed".
"The (French) president knows this, we discussed it, any decision on Polish actions will be taken in Warsaw and only in Warsaw. For the moment, we are not planning any such actions," he added.
Macron did not mention the possibility of foreign peacekeepers in his statement to journalists in Warsaw.
But he had previously floated the idea of Western troops in Ukraine in February.
Asked about the proposal on Monday, Zelensky said: "Frankly, we can think and work on Emmanuel (Macron)'s position".
"He proposed that some troops of some state should be present on the territory of Ukraine to guarantee our security while Ukraine is not in NATO," he added.
Defence expert Elie Tenenbaum estimated the potential number of foreign troops at 40,000 soldiers.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Thursday also addressed the possibility of foreign peacekeepers, but said that Russia needed to stop shelling Ukraine first.
"First of all, we need peace in Ukraine in order to have peacekeeping missions, and for that we need Russia to stop shelling, which they are not doing," she said before a meeting of foreign ministers in Berlin.
"Before that, we have nothing to talk about. And of course, it's to every single European country to make their decision whether they are using their troops in which processes," she added.
She said that were Russia to stop shelling "for Christmas or a longer period, that is a positive development, but we haven't seen so far that they want to do this".
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has also addressed the idea of foreign peacekeepers.
"We are preparing, we're considering scenarios, but we are doing so in complete confidentiality," he told public radio last week.
'Up to Ukrainians'
Macron met with Zelensky and Trump on Saturday in Paris, on Trump's first international trip since his re-election.
Trump later wrote on his Truth Social platform that "there should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin".
On Tuesday, Zelensky said he was grateful for Trump's "strong resolve" to end the war.
He had earlier said that Ukraine needs "effective guarantees for peace".
In Warsaw, Macron and Tusk stressed the importance of including Ukraine in any discussion on ending the war.
"No one can speak for the Ukrainians in their name regarding concessions to make... It's up to the Ukrainians to do so, but (there can be no talk) of security in Europe without the Europeans," Macron told reporters.
He stressed that it was important to "find a possible path that takes into account the interests of Ukraine, its sovereignty and the interests of the Europeans and their security".
Poland, a NATO member, is a staunch backer of neighbouring Ukraine and serves as a crucial logistics hub for Western military aid to Kyiv.
It has been discussing Ukraine with various foreign officials as it gears up to take over the rotating presidency of the European Union next month.
Tusk said earlier this week that Ukraine peace talks could begin "in the winter of this year".
"Our (EU) presidency will notably be co-responsible for what the political landscape will look like, perhaps how the situation will look during (peace) negotiations," he said.
