Macron, Tusk to discuss deploying peacekeepers to Ukraine after ceasefire, Bloomberg reports
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and French President Emmanuel Macron are expected to discuss the possibility of sending soldiers to Ukraine after a potential ceasefire deal, Bloomberg reported on Dec. 11, citing undisclosed sources.
Macron is visiting Warsaw on Dec. 12 to brief the Polish prime minister on his meeting with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump last week and to discuss Europe's support for Ukraine and ways to end Russia's war.
European powers, like France and Poland, are expected to take center stage in helping Kyiv resist and deter Russian aggression as Trump signaled intent to reduce support and get the U.S. "out" of the war.
According to Bloomberg, the talks between Macron and Tusk are to focus on how to strengthen Ukraine's security in the short- and long-term, including the option of deploying European soldiers once a ceasefire is reached.
The French president has spearheaded the idea of sending troops to Ukraine in some capacity since February. More recently, Macron reportedly discussed the proposal of sending peacekeepers on the ground with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer in November.
Szymon Holownia, the speaker of the lower chamber of the Polish parliament, told the media that Poland would be involved in such a mission only within a NATO framework.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, who also met Trump and Macron on Dec. 7, recently said that Ukraine "may consider" the deployment of foreign peacekeepers, but only after receiving a clear timeline for NATO membership.
Both Paris and Warsaw have been favorable toward Ukraine's entry into the alliance, but the step continues to meet opposition in the U.S., Germany, Hungary, and elsewhere.
The possibility of a diplomatic end to the war is increasingly discussed in Ukraine and the West. Tusk, whose country takes over the EU Council's presidency in January, said peace talks could begin as early as this winter.
Russia showed no interest in a ceasefire as its forces currently hold the upper hand on the battlefield, closing in on key Ukrainian strongholds in Donetsk Oblast.
Dinara Khalilova
