In rare meeting without US ally, Western army chiefs meet to show Ukraine unity
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French President Emmanuel Macron (third from left) and other French officials hosting a closed-door meeting of European and Nato allies, as well as Japan and Australia, on how to guarantee Ukraine's security.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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PARIS/QUEBEC - More than 30 army chiefs among Washington's closest allies met in Paris on March 11 without their US counterparts, seeking to take on more responsibility over the war in Ukraine given President Donald Trump's unpredictability and rapprochement with Moscow.
The closed-door gathering of 34 army chiefs, including Nato alliance and EU members as well as Japan and Australia, was a rare - and possibly unprecedented - convening without the US.
The talks aimed in part to assess options and capabilities to guarantee Ukraine's security in the event of a ceasefire, including potential European peacekeepers, and to maintain Kyiv's long-term military strength.
"The political message is we can do it together and without the United States, but it's clear there are things we can't do and the problem with Russia is we need to have deterrence," said a European diplomat involved in the talks, adding that the meeting was largely pre-planning.
A military official said the US was not invited, in an intended signal that Europe and other partners could take their responsibilities given Mr Trump has distanced himself from allies.
Officials said the presence of countries like Japan and Australia, both of whom have also faced uncertainty from the new US administration, showed a deeper malaise among Washington's traditional allies.
No demilitarisation of Ukraine
Mr Trump has been exerting huge pressure on Ukraine to agree to peace. He has endorsed, even before talks, many of Russia's demands, such as denying Ukraine Nato membership.
Ahead of the talks, French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu stressed how important a strong Ukrainian army was to security guarantees.
Demilitarisation is one of the few Russian demands that Mr Trump has not pressed Ukraine on, a senior European official said, adding that Europe wanted to keep it that way.
The closed-door gathering of 34 army chiefs, including Nato alliance and EU members as well as Japan and Australia, was a rare - and possibly unprecedented - convening without the US.
PHOTO: REUTERS
"The priority is to think about what the Ukrainian army should be like in the future, based on the principle that the first security guarantee remains the Ukrainian army," Mr Lecornu told a security conference in Paris.
"We will refuse any form of demilitarisation of Ukraine," Mr Lecornu said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said he wants Ukraine to be demilitarised but Kyiv says that would expose it to further attacks. REUTERS
