European leaders unanimously opposed any suggestion on Thursday that economic sanctions on Russia would be lifted as part of a temporary ceasefire in the war in Ukraine.
Russia is pushing for an easing of the extensive sanctions levelled on the country – following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago – as a condition for Moscow signing up to a temporary US-brokered ceasefire in the fighting.
A meeting of European leaders at the Élysée Palace in Paris debated what role Europe could play if Russia and Ukraine agreed to a permanent truce.
French president Emmanuel Macron organised the gathering of the “coalition of the willing”, which included the UK, most EU states, Norway, Canada, Turkey and Australia.
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The coalition came together in response to concerns that US president Donald Trump is pushing Ukraine towards a rushed peace settlement on terms favourable to Russia. The group has taken shape in recent weeks during discussions on how to shore up a sustainable peace in Ukraine.
France, the UK and several other countries were prepared to pull together a military “reassurance force”, aimed at securing Ukraine from a future Russian attack, in the event of a peace deal to end the war, Mr Macron said.
Such a force would encompass military power deployed in the air, the sea and troops on the ground, he said after the meeting. There was no unanimity in the room about the idea, but not everyone needed to agree or contribute, he said.
On the eve of the meeting, Mr Macron had announced France would provide an extra €2 billion in military aid to Ukraine to bolster its position on the battlefield in the short-term.
UK prime minister Keir Starmer, who has spearheaded the new “coalition” with Mr Macron, said it was clear that Russian leader Vladimir Putin was “playing games and playing for time” in preliminary ceasefire talks.
European states were prepared to back up a peace deal “whatever its precise shape turns out to be”, he said. The aim would be to deter Russia from considering any future attack on Ukraine, he said.
Mr Starmer described the efforts as Europe “mobilising together behind the peace process on a scale we haven’t seen for decades”. The UK Labour leader said further pressure should be put on Russia, such as even “tougher” economic sanctions.
The Kremlin has pushed for western sanctions on Russian banks to be relaxed as one condition for it to stick to a temporary halt to the fighting in the Black Sea.
The United States, EU and UK together introduced wide ranging sanctions on Russia following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 to limit Moscow’s ability to wage war and to hobble its economy.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin attended the meeting and afterwards said there was “very clear unanimity that sanctions should not be lifted and cannot be lifted, until there’s a just peace and a comprehensive peace”.
The group of leaders had spoken about how to monitor a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, he said. Ireland would be willing to consider contributing troops to a peacekeeping force. The scope of a further deterrence force was still being worked out by European allies, he said.
Ursula von der Leyen, who also attended, said the so-called coalition of the willing had “gotten bigger, stronger and very determined”. The European Commission president said it was clear from the meeting that sanctions on Russia would “stay in place”.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said lifting the measures at this point would be a “disaster”.
