Emmanuel Macron spoke of deploying a “reinsurance force” in Ukraine, made up of European troops. He specifies that this military force would “not” replace the Ukrainian armies “.
How to guarantee peace in Ukraine? While negotiations are underway, with the United States as mediators, the question of lasting peace in Ukraine arises. Indeed, Vladimir Putin seems to want to impose increasingly strict conditions on a ceasefire, which is far from pleased the European Union and Ukraine. So the EU is preparing in the event of a peace agreement to guarantee its sustainability.
At the end of the Ukraine Summit organized in Paris, Emmanuel Macron talks about the sending of “reinsurance forces” of “some member states” of the “volunteer coalition”, which is not only made up of EU member countries. These forces would be based in “certain strategic places preidentified with the Ukrainians”, in the event of a peace agreement, reports Euronews.
As France and the United Kingdom have recalled, which should pilot this coalition, these forces “are not intended to be peacekeeping forces”, “are not intended to be forces on the contact line” and “are not intended to replace the Ukrainian armies”.
A deterrent force
But then, what would these troops serve? Emmanuel Macron said they “would have a deterrent in potential Russian attack”. “If there was again a general aggression against Ukrainian soil, these armies would in fact be attacked and it would then be our usual framework for engagement,” said the French president. “Our soldiers, when they are committed and deployed, are there to react and respond to the decisions of the commander-in-chief and, if they are in a conflict situation, to answer them. (…) So we are not on the front line, we are not going to fight, but we are there to guarantee a lasting peace. It is a pacifist approach,” he added. “The only ones who, at that time, would trigger a conflict, a bellicose situation, would be the Russians if they decided again to launch an assault.”
Who would be sent?
In the event of sending this “reinsurance force”, it is important to know which countries would come from this force. For the moment, nothing final has been placed on the table. Indeed, Emmanuel Macron recognized a lack of “unanimity” on the question. It would then be forces of only “a few member states” of the coalition. The President of the Republic also explained “wishing” American support, but he also provides a scenario without Washington, while continuing to qualify the United States as “reliable ally”.
Regarding the French who could be sent, no concern for citizens who are not part of the army. Emmanuel Macron spoke on February 20 on social networks about the war at the gates of Europe and had responded to concerns: no civilian will be sent to Ukraine, including the people who did their military service until his abolition by Jacques Chirac in 1996.