Zelensky States He Lacks Clear Security Pledge from Partner Nations
President Zelensky has stated that European allies have failed to provide solid assurances that they will defend Ukraine in the event of a fresh offensive by Russia.
"I continue to pose this critical question to all our partners and I have not received a definitive and straightforward response yet," he told reporters on midweek.
These remarks follow a day after Britain and France signed a statement of purpose on deploying troops in Ukraine if a peace deal to end the war with Russia is reached.
However, comprehensive defense assurances have not been agreed. The United States, which has been leading efforts to halt the offensive, was reported to have abstained from signing such a pledge at talks in Paris on the previous day.
Outcomes from the Paris Discussions
Following the negotiations in Paris, which included some three dozen nations that comprise the so-called Coalition of the Willing, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the UK and France would "set up operational bases across Ukraine" to prevent any future incursion, while French President Emmanuel Macron later said thousands of troops may be deployed.
Allies proposed that the US would take the lead in monitoring a truce. But the key issue of ceding land that Ukraine is being asked to grant to Russia as a component of the settlement terms are continuing to be negotiated.
Moscow has not yet commented on the announcement made in the city of Paris.
Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in the early months of 2022, and Moscow now occupies about 20% of Ukrainian territory.
The President's Evolving Stance
Sir Keir described the bilateral declaration as "an essential component of our commitment to support Ukraine for the long-term".
He added: "It establishes the pathway for the juridical structure under which allied military personnel could function on Ukraine's territory, protecting Ukrainian airspace and waters, and regenerating Ukraine's armed forces for the years to come."
The Ukrainian leader praised that accord as a "huge step forward".
Twenty-four hours afterward, however, he seemed more cautious.
"I see the will, the political will, and that the allies are prepared, and the allies are willing to give us strong sanctions, powerful defense assurances," he said when asked if nations in Europe would defend Ukraine.
"But as long as we don't have such security guarantees - legally binding, supported by parliaments, supported by the United States Congress - this question remains unresolved. And should they materialize, you must ultimately depend first and foremost on your inherent capabilities."
Unresolved Issues and Ongoing Conflict
Negotiations in Paris were also significant owing to the presence of envoys from former President Trump's administration, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
One envoy stated the allies "mostly completed" their work on agreeing security protocols.
Recently, Zelensky said a peace deal was "ninety percent complete".
Questions of land and defense pledges have been at the center of unresolved issues for negotiators.
Putin has repeatedly warned that Ukrainian troops must pull back from all of Ukraine's eastern Donbas or Russia will seize it, dismissing potential concessions over how to conclude hostilities.
The Ukrainian President has thus far rejected relinquishing any land, but has suggested that Ukraine could redeploy its forces to an established line - but only if Russia did the same.
Russian forces currently controls about 75% of the Donetsk oblast, and some nearly all of the adjacent Luhansk region. The two regions constitute the Donbas industrial heartland.
It has been intensifying attacks against cities in Ukraine - particularly targeting energy infrastructure. Russia has also made slow progress in capturing more Ukrainian territory.
Ukrainian forces have retaliated at objectives inside Russia with unmanned aerial vehicles, though with more limited success.
