Zelensky urges to accelerate security guarantees after a "meaningful" conversation with NATO

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for accelerating the pace of work to provide security guarantees for his country, following a conversation he described as "meaningful" with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Friday.

This came during a press conference held by Zelensky in Paris, where he praised the commitment of his European allies to deploy forces in Ukraine as part of any potential peace agreement with Russia, describing it as "the first concrete step" of its kind in a long time. He said: "26 countries agreed to provide security guarantees for Ukraine. I believe this is the first serious concrete step of this kind in a long time."

Zelensky added on the Telegram app: "It is important that we are as productive as possible with America. It is important to strengthen our air defense." He emphasized that having a strong Ukrainian army will be "crucial" in any future security arrangements, urging European defense companies to ramp up production to full capacity.

For his part, French President Emmanuel Macron revealed that the coming days will see the final touches on the support that the United States will provide within the framework of security guarantees for Ukraine. This came after a phone call he had with his American counterpart, Donald Trump, following a meeting of the group of countries supporting Kyiv.

Macron told reporters on Thursday: "We had a call with President Trump.. The results of this call are simple: in the coming days, we will finalize American support, and these security guarantees. The United States, as I said, has been involved at every stage of the process."

Macron announced that 26 countries, mostly European, committed to participating in what he called a "deterrent force" that could be deployed "on land, at sea, or in the air" in Ukraine as part of any potential ceasefire. He clarified: "The goal of this force is not to wage war against Russia," noting that Germany, Italy, and Poland are among the countries that have defined the nature of their support, whether for training the Ukrainian army or ensuring security.

Macron confirmed that the security guarantees aim to "ensure that there are no restrictions on the size or capabilities of the Ukrainian army during negotiations," adding: "This is what we defend, and what we will defend until the end."

He warned that Europeans would impose new sanctions "in coordination with the United States" if Moscow continued to "refuse to establish peace" in Ukraine, pointing out that there are "new communications expected between the Americans and the Russians."

In contrast, the Kremlin accused Europeans of "obstructing" the settlement in Ukraine. The Russian newspaper "Izvestia" quoted presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying: "The Europeans are obstructing the settlement in Ukraine. They are not contributing to it," accusing Europe of "continuing its attempts" to make Ukraine "a center for everything anti-Russian."

The Kremlin confirmed that security guarantees for Ukraine cannot be provided through foreign military forces, and that much work remains to be done before any potential summit between Moscow and Kyiv to end the conflict.