Macron announces fresh ‘coalition of willing’ meeting on Ukraine

LONDON – French President Emmanuel Macron said leaders of the coalition backing Ukraine would meet again next week, hoping to finalise plans to secure a potential truce in the war with Russia.

The huddle in Paris with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will be the latest in a series of high-stakes gatherings – and will come after Kyiv and Moscow hold talks in Saudi Arabia with the US on March 24.

Mr Macron’s announcement on March 20 came after London played host to the latest discussions of military top brass from the so-called “coalition of the willing” around Ukraine.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said plans on policing a possible ceasefire were “coming together” as US President Donald Trump forges ahead with Russia on ending its war on Ukraine.

Mr Macron – who along with Mr Starmer has said he is willing to deploy troops to Ukraine – said the meeting on March 27 will be a chance to “fine-tune” work on ensuring any truce is durable.

Meanwhile, Mr Zelensky told a European Union summit that “nothing had changed” as Moscow has kept up bombardments despite agreeing with Mr Trump to halt strikes on Ukraine’s energy system.

Mr Zelensky said Russian President Vladimir Putin must “stop making unnecessary demands that only prolong the war”, calling on the EU to ramp up arms deliveries and keep sanctions in force.

EU leaders vowed in a joint declaration, which was agreed without the support of Russia-friendly Hungary, to step up military support despite Moscow’s demands for foreign support to stop.

But they stopped short of endorsing a request from Mr Zelensky, pushed by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, to give Kyiv €5 billion (S$7.2 billion) for artillery shells, in the face of opposition from France and Italy.

In Norway, Mr Zelensky said Ukrainian and US officials would meet in Saudi Arabia on March 24 to build on US-led efforts to secure an end to the Russian invasion, now grinding into its fourth year.

The Kremlin had earlier confirmed Russian officials would also hold talks with the US side in Saudi Arabia on the same day.

Power plants

Mr Zelensky and Mr Putin both held talks with Mr Trump this week, and have indicated that they are prepared to halt attacks on energy infrastructure for 30 days.

But there has since been no let-up in fighting.

Both countries reported a barrage of new drone strikes overnight, as questions remained about the exact details of any lasting peace deal.

Mr Trump, who has spooked European and Nato allies by his overtures to Mr Putin and lukewarm commitment to European security, suggested on March 19 that the US could take over and run Ukraine’s power plants.

But on March 20, Mr Zelensky poured cold water on the idea, saying he could not legally negotiate ownership of the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station.

“If they want to take it back from the Russians, if they want to modernise it, invest – this is a different question, this is an open question, we can talk about it,” Mr Zelensky said.

Mr Trump later returned to a deal for access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals that he has pushed Kyiv to sign, insisting Washington would sign it “very shortly”.

Air defences

Despite Mr Trump going cold on support for Ukraine, the US is looking at helping Kyiv to acquire additional air defence systems to counter Russia’s ballistic missiles.

According to a White House readout, Mr Zelensky on March 19 asked Mr Trump for help in obtaining US-made “Patriot missile systems” to bolster its current stock provided by the US, Germany and Romania.

As Europe frets over the future of Ukraine, leaders once again debated plans to massively bolster defence spending in the bloc.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov questioned whether Europe, where governments are looking at steep increases in domestic defence spending, was committed to ending the fighting.

Signs from Brussels and European capitals appear to indicate plans to militarise Europe, he said. AFP