Ukraine's allies seek US proposal on troop deployment after war - Bloomberg
Kyiv • UNN
European leaders and US officials are seeking to finalize a security guarantee agreement that includes the possibility of a US troop presence in post-war Ukraine. Talks in Paris are focused on integrating capabilities offered by Washington with the plans of Ukraine's allies.
European leaders and American officials are seeking to finalize a security guarantee agreement, which includes the possibility of a US military presence in post-war Ukraine, to ensure the sustainability of any peace agreement, Bloomberg reports, writes UNN.
Details
Talks in Paris on Tuesday "will focus on how to integrate capabilities recently proposed by Washington with plans developed by the so-called 'coalition of the willing' consisting of Ukraine's allies," sources familiar with the matter said.
French President Emmanuel Macron will host the meeting, which follows a series of discussions between national security advisers over the past month. The US will be represented by President Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the sources added.
Also present at the meeting will be British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, other European leaders, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and a high-ranking NATO military official, Alexus Grinkevich, who also heads US forces in Europe.
"It is unclear what role US troops would play or where they would be stationed in the event of a peace agreement with Russia. European countries have discussed deploying multinational 'assurance forces,' with the Ukrainian army leading the defense on the front lines," the publication states.
Leaders are expected to hold a press conference after the meeting and "may issue a declaration in the coming days" if a formal agreement is reached, sources said.
"The US is also prepared to help monitor a ceasefire, including by providing intelligence," sources said. They added that "drones and satellites will be used to detect violations."
European officials said that "their recent talks with American counterparts have been positive, and that the current status of the proposed security guarantees is good." One of them called "the US offer of intelligence and troops a game-changer." Another said it was "much more like the so-called American 'backstop' that European countries have been seeking for the past year."
The goal of recent meetings between American, European, and Ukrainian officials was to finalize a security guarantee agreement. It remains unclear whether Kremlin head Vladimir Putin will agree to these proposals. Ukraine's allies will insist on Russia's participation after a security agreement with the US is reached, one source said.
Other key contentious issues remain, particularly regarding territory, where Moscow seeks a complete withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donbas, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected.
Over the weekend, Zelenskyy told reporters that the Paris meeting would "discuss the final details" of security guarantees. Ukraine and its European allies insist on the need for a strong deterrent to prevent Russia from attacking Ukraine again after a peace agreement is reached.
Zelenskyy said he asked Trump to provide security guarantees that could cover a period of up to half a century. Current proposals envision a 15-year term with the possibility of extension.
Ukraine hopes to organize a meeting in the US at the leadership level by the end of January, he added.
Bloomberg previously reported that Ukraine's allies are seeking a multi-layered approach to security guarantees. "An enhanced Ukrainian armed force would be the first line of defense in the event of a ceasefire, then multinational forces from a coalition of participating countries would be deployed further from the front line, and the US would provide a so-called 'backstop,'" the publication writes.