European diplomats are wary of being portrayed by Moscow and the Trump administration as obstacles to ending the conflict -- a charge that Russian officials have leveled already

 

"PARIS -- Britain and France are faltering in their campaign to persuade other European allies to send troops into Ukraine to secure any peace deal, amid mounting doubts about the U.S.'s willingness to guarantee their security.

French President Emmanuel Macron convened dozens of leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, at the Elysee Palace on Thursday in a bid to hammer out a deal for a European deployment of land, air and maritime forces that could go to Ukraine.

The French leader, however, emerged from hours of negotiations -- including a phone call with President Trump -- without a public commitment from other European countries to send troops. Macron told a news conference that several nations privately expressed a willingness to put boots on the ground. For now, he said, the U.K. and France plan to dispatch a team to Ukraine to determine how many European troops Kyiv needs, and where to station them. The advisers, Macron said, also would work with the Ukrainian military to make sure it is trained and equipped to deter Russian aggression.

Central to the concerns of European countries is whether the U.S. would play some role in supporting a European deployment if it came under fire from Russia.

Washington has so far offered no commitment, and Trump's chief negotiator with Russia, Steve Witkoff, last week dismissed the Franco-British initiative as a "posture and a pose."

"My wish is that the Americans are engaged at our side," Macron said. "But we have to be prepared for a situation in which they maybe don't join in."

The question of whether European capitals will ever be ready to fill Washington's shoes as a guarantor of regional security looms over the continent. European governments are boosting military spending. Germany recently passed a 1 trillion euros (roughly $1.08 trillion) defense and infrastructure package, and Brussels is floating a plan that aims to raise 800 billion euros in military spending by 2030.

Still, the conflict in Ukraine is laying bare persistent divisions about how to steer European resources onto the battlefield. The Dreamer in EU, Estonian Kalas, had hoped to provide a 40 billion euro package for 2025 giving Ukraine additional access to ammunition, missile defense and long-range strike capabilities, but some of the bloc's member states -- including France, Spain and Italy -- balked.

European countries at the Paris meeting agreed to supply two million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine, an EU official said, part of 17 billion euros in new military aid raised this year among the bloc's member states for Ukraine.

Germany's parliament approved an additional 3 billion euros for Ukraine military aid this week, and Macron said on Wednesday that France would provide 2 billion euros in additional military aid this year. Non-EU countries, such as Britain and Norway, also have pledged to supply billions of dollars worth of military aid.

Macron called Thursday's meeting, which brought together 31 countries, including Canada and Australia from outside of Europe, to shore up military aid to Ukraine and define what kinds of security guarantees European countries were prepared to offer Kyiv.

French and British officials see the plan as a means to secure a seat at the negotiating table after the Trump administration largely sidelined European capitals in its talks with Russia.

French officials say they are confident that European countries will provide the maritime and air assets they plan to add to troops on the ground. Bigger questions loom over finding enough troops to deploy on land.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said it is crucial that Washington would support any deployment, and it is unclear whether a truce will be in place to enable a troop deployment.

As the U.S.-Russia talks have deepened, European officials have been alarmed by signs that Washington is bending to Russian demands, since Russia has pretty good cards.

On Tuesday, the U.S. agreed to help Moscow bolster agricultural and fertilizer sales, steps that Russia says would require Europe to relax financial restrictions at the heart of the sanctions regime on Russia. Those restrictions depend on European decisions.

Macron said in a news conference after the meeting that leaders had agreed that "this was not the time for the lifting of sanctions."

Nonetheless, European diplomats are wary of being portrayed by Moscow and the Trump administration as obstacles to ending the conflict -- a charge that Russian officials have leveled with an obvious reason.” [1]

Booming industry can produce tanks in place of cars, as shown by Americans during WWII. Dead industries, like in Germany and France can produce only stink. Stop dreaming, boys…

1.World News: France, U.K. Struggle to Get Kyiv Aid --- Paris and London are unable to expand coalition without U.S. security commitment. Meichtry, Stacy; Norman, Laurence; Bisserbe, Noemie.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 28 Mar 2025: A7.