A meeting of 40 leaders of the “coalition of the willing”. Great Britain will give Ukraine missiles, France wants guarantees
The wave of Western sanctions has limited Russia's resources, and since pressure remains the only language to which Russia responds, we will continue to increase it until there is a real will to commit to peace, the so-called said after the meeting. coalition of the willing, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. European leaders have declared that financial aid for Kiev will soon be launched on the basis of frozen Russian assets.
Von der Leyen noted “promising progress” in recent days and hours in peace negotiations. She welcomed the participation of US Secretary of State Marc Rubio in the meeting of the coalition of the willing, i.e. a group of countries ready to provide security guarantees to Ukraine, in which the United States is not a member.
– We need strong transatlantic cooperation because it brings results – emphasized the head of the European Commission. – Consider the significant impact of our coordinated and subsequent waves of sanctions on the Russian economy. They limit the resources that Russia has at its disposal to wage its aggressive war, she noted.
“And since pressure remains the only language to which Russia responds, we will continue to increase it until there is a real will to commit to a credible path to peace,” she added.
Von der Leyen pointed out that on Monday evening – while Europe and its partners were engaged in peace talks – Russia intensified its attacks on Kiev, with missiles and drones even violating the airspace of Moldova and Romania.
– This is another reminder that Ukraine's security is Europe's security. Ukraine's interests are our interests, they are inseparable, she emphasized.
– Therefore, we will continue to strongly support Ukraine in the upcoming negotiations – declared the President of the European Commission.
According to her, the key point of these talks is the issue of financing Ukraine, including the use of immobilized Russian state assets.
The EC proposed a reparations loan in the amount of EUR 140 billion, which would be financed using frozen Russian assets. Work on it has been ongoing since September. Ukraine would return the loan once Russia paid compensation.
However, the peace plan being pushed by the United States, according to media reports, was to include an alternative use of the frozen assets of the Russian central bank, allowing the US to profit from these funds.
Marcon talked about absolute good peace and Starmer talked about missiles
French President Emmanuel Macron said at the beginning of the virtual meeting that the “absolute condition for good peace” in Ukraine are security guarantees and these cannot be only “guarantees on paper.”
– We are clearly at a turning point. The negotiations have benefited from new enthusiasm and we should take advantage of this momentum, he added.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that the British will deliver more defense missiles to Ukraine in the coming weeks. He added that London is ready to provide financial assistance to Ukraine based on the value of frozen Russian assets.
“It's the best way to show (Russian leader Vladimir Putin) that he should negotiate rather than try to wait us out, and it's the best way we can show our readiness to help Ukraine – in war or in peace,” he said.
The Prime Minister assured that EU teams are “working around the clock” to organize financing for Kiev.
Ukraine wants the EU to participate in talks with Trump
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he is ready to discuss the “sensitive points” of the peace plan with US President Donald Trump, and European leaders should take part in the conversation, Reuters reports.
Decisions regarding Europe's security must be made with Europe's participation, said Zelensky, whose statement was quoted by Reuters based on the text of the president's speech.
Zelensky called on European leaders to develop a framework for a program to deploy the so-called reinsurance forces and to continue supporting Kiev “as long as Moscow shows no will to end the war.”
For the first time, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio took part in the videoconference of the coalition countries.
“No decisions about us without us,” wrote the Deputy Prime Minister and head of Polish diplomacy, Radosław Sikorski, on Platform X. He added that “on behalf of the Prime Minister, I represent” Poland during the videoconference of the coalition of the willing, and there are 40 leaders “on the line.”
After the video conference, Macron announced that European leaders decided to create a task force under the aegis of France and Great Britain and with the support of the United States and Turkey to prepare security guarantees for Ukraine.
He called for maintaining a “strong Ukrainian army” that is not subject to restrictions. – The talks in Geneva proved that there can be no restrictions regarding the Ukrainian army – he added.
He promised that France, together with other European countries, will finalize a plan in the coming days that will allow funds from frozen Russian assets to be used for Ukraine.
After the video conference, the AFP agency reported, citing a source, that the latest version of the peace project allows Ukraine to retain an army of 800,000. soldiers.
28-point peace plan
The 28-point plan, which the US was to negotiate with Russia, has been consulted in recent days with Ukraine, as well as European countries: France, Germany and Great Britain. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that after the talks in Geneva, the number of points in the American peace proposal was reduced and “is no longer 28” and that “many of the right things” were included in them.
At the remote meeting of the coalition of the willing on Tuesday, Poland was represented by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski. The hosts of the meeting were French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
At the beginning of the meeting, Macron said that “finally there is a chance for real progress towards good peace” between Ukraine and Russia, but its condition is security guarantees for Kiev.
White House: There are still several delicate issues to be resolved between the US, Ukraine and Russia
The United States has made great progress toward a peace agreement, but there are still several sensitive issues that require further talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavit said on Tuesday.
“Over the past week, the United States has made great progress toward a peace agreement by engaging Ukraine and Russia in talks. There are several sensitive but not intractable issues that require further talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States,” Leavitt wrote on Platform X.
The White House thus referred to reports that the basic details of the peace plan had been agreed with Ukraine, as previously reported by the Secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council, Rustem Umerov.
“We appreciate the productive and constructive meetings in Geneva between the Ukrainian and American delegations, as well as President Trump's unwavering efforts to end the war. Our delegations have reached a common understanding on the key terms of the agreement discussed in Geneva. We now count on the support of our European partners in the next steps,” Umerov wrote on the X platform.
The politician, who participated in the talks in Geneva, emphasized that President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to the United States is now expected.
“We look forward to organizing a visit of the President of Ukraine to the US at the earliest possible date in November to finalize the final stages and reach an agreement with President Trump,” Umerov explained.
The White House has not yet confirmed Zelensky's plans for a visit. According to the current plan, Donald Trump is to go to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Tuesday, where he is to stay until Sunday.
According to the Financial Times, Ukraine agreed, among other things, to limit the size of his army to 800,000. soldiers. The daily also reported that territorial issues and the nature of the security guarantee for Ukraine remain to be agreed between Zelensky and President Trump.
However, the newspaper noted that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has already signaled that Russia will reject the modified peace plan if it does not take into account its long-standing demands.
Oskar Górzyński from Washington
Magdalena Cedro from Brussels
