In the Ukraine war, in view of the change of power in the USA, Europe is increasingly trying to gain influence in ending the conflict as Washington seeks. There are also security guarantees for the country attacked by Russia, including the question of a possible peacekeeping force. After a meeting with Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw, French President Emmanuel Macron called for solidarity with the USA.
“So we have to work very closely with the Americans and of course with Ukraine to find a path that takes into account the interests of Ukraine, its sovereignty, and the interests of the Europeans and their security,” Macron said. Coordination between European countries is important when it comes to security guarantees for Ukraine after a possible peace solution.
NATO states discuss ceasefire monitoring
Macron did not explicitly address the discussion about a peacekeeping force with foreign soldiers in Ukraine. According to information from the German Press Agency, there have been confidential discussions for weeks between representatives of several NATO states about how a possible ceasefire in Ukraine could be monitored. The background is the scenario that Donald Trump, as US President, could try to pressure Ukraine and Russia into negotiations.
Tusk rejected media reports that his country wants to participate in a peacekeeping force after the war in Ukraine ends. “We are not planning any such actions at the moment.” Unconfirmed reports had previously said that the conversation could also include consideration of stationing a peacekeeping force made up of foreign soldiers in Ukraine after the war.
Poland does not want to be part of the peacekeeping force
The Polish radio station Rmf.fm reported that if there were to be a European peacekeeping force for Ukraine, Poland would probably provide the logistical center, but not soldiers. Warsaw also does not want to send armed forces to its neighboring country for historical reasons: before the Second World War, parts of what is now western Ukraine belonged to Poland. In addition, 10,000 Polish soldiers are currently deployed to guard the border with Belarus.
Germany and other European countries assure Ukraine of steadfast support and commitment to viable security guarantees should negotiations on a ceasefire take place after US President Donald Trump takes office. “We are committed to providing Ukraine with ironclad security guarantees, including the reliable provision of military and financial support in the long term,” said a “Berlin Declaration” cited by representatives of Germany, France, Poland, Italy, Spain, Great Britain and Ukraine as well as the EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas agreed in Berlin. The meeting was organized by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens).
German participation in peace mission open
Baerbock and Kallas did not respond to questions about the involvement of European or German soldiers in a possible peace mission in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, someone wasn’t there in Warsaw again: Chancellor Olaf Scholz. This is the third important international meeting on Ukraine where he is missing. At the end of November, a summit of the Nordic and Baltic states and Poland took place without him. Macron, on the other hand, was switched on. Last weekend, Macron, future US President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke to each other on the sidelines of the reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. For protocol reasons, Scholz let Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier go first and stayed at home.
Consultations again without Scholz
And now Warsaw. Again without Scholz. And this despite the fact that the Chancellor has been heavily involved in diplomatic efforts to find a peace solution in Ukraine in recent weeks – but in a different way than his most important allies. Above all, he campaigned for a new peace conference involving Russia and in November he spoke by phone to Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time in almost two years. Zelenskyj criticized him exceptionally harshly for this.
And when Foreign Minister Baerbock thought aloud in Brussels a week ago about an international presence in Ukraine during a ceasefire, the Chancellor reacted irritably. It is “completely inappropriate to speculate now about what will happen later in the event of a negotiated ceasefire and a peaceful situation.” The thought games about a peacekeeping force also played a role before the meeting between Macron and Tusk.
Chancellor exerts “greatest intensity” on behalf of Ukraine
In an interview, Scholz reacted “severely irritated” to the discussion in the German media about his absence from Macron’s Ukraine activities. He said on Deutschlandfunk Kultur that he was involved in the talks on Ukraine with “great intensity”. “In fact, we are all in close contact with each other to discuss these issues.”
In Poland people look at Scholz with disappointment and skepticism anyway. Tusk dismissed his call to Putin in November as unhelpful “telephone diplomacy.” This initiative is raising deep-seated fears among the Polish public that Germany and Russia could reach an agreement over the heads of Poles and Ukrainians.
