In Paris a meeting was held to discuss support for Ukraine: France made the first statements

In Paris, French Minister of Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu opened the Paris Forum on Defense and Strategy, where over 30 army chiefs will gather to discuss what Europe and the West can offer in support of Ukraine within a peace agreement with Russia, where Lecornu opposed the demilitarization of the Ukrainian army and emphasized the need for more planning to support a potential ceasefire, reports UNN citing The Guardian.

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Lecornu stated that Europe is facing a "new period" in its history, which is markedly different from both the Cold War and the "peace dividend period," when numerous global powers competed for influence.

Speaking about the new U.S. administration, he said that today's discussions would focus on how NATO and the West could defend the eastern flank, "if tomorrow the contributions of certain countries - or one particular country - are reduced" in their presence.

Regarding Ukraine, he said that more planning is needed to support any potential ceasefire in Ukraine, knowing that Russia has a history of not adhering to such agreements.

Most importantly, the French minister said that France "will reject any demilitarization of the Ukrainian army," considering it an important part of any future security architecture.

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Supplement

Military officials from over 30 countries are set to participate in the Paris talks on creating international security forces for Ukraine.

A long list of participants in the talks on Tuesday will also include countries from Asia and Oceania, which will join remotely, said a French official.

The forces that France and Britain plan to create aim to reassure Ukraine and deter a new large-scale Russian offensive after any ceasefire, said a French official to AP. This could include heavy weaponry and stockpiles of arms that could be sent within hours or days to assist in Ukraine's defense in the event of a Russian attack that violates any ceasefire, the official said.

The Franco-British plan will be presented to military officials from over 30 countries during the first part of the talks on Tuesday, the official said.

The second part of the talks will include "more precise and specific" discussions, where participants will be asked to state whether their troops can contribute and in what way, the official said.

However, the official emphasized that the final decision on whether countries will participate in the forces will be made at the political level by government leaders.

Chiefs of staff - or, in the case of Canada, their representatives - from almost all 32 countries of the NATO military alliance will participate in discussions in Paris. Three NATO countries will be absent. These are Croatia and Montenegro, which were invited but did not respond, and the United States, the official said.

The official stated that the United States was not invited because European countries want to demonstrate that they can take responsibility for a significant part of Ukraine's security system after a ceasefire.

Also present will be the chiefs of staff of Ireland and Cyprus and a representative from Austria - all countries that are not NATO members but are members of the European Union.

Australia and New Zealand, which are part of the Commonwealth, as well as Japan and South Korea will listen to the talks remotely, the official said.

Ukraine will be represented by a military officer who is also a member of the country's National Security and Defense Council.