All-Volunteer Coalition agrees to binding guarantees for Ukraine with US ‘planned support’

The heads of State and Government of the Coalition of Volunteers for Ukraine agreed this Tuesday in Paris on a package of “legally binding security guarantees” for Ukraine, in principle with the “planned support” of the United States, starting with the details of the future Multinational Force that will be deployed in the country once the cessation of hostilities is achieved.

“The Coalition of Volunteers recognizes, for the first time, an operational convergence between the 35 countries that make it up, as well as Ukraine and the United States, to build solid security guarantees,” announced the president of France and host of the event, Emmanuel Macron, at a press conference after the meeting.

Among the aforementioned guarantees, the member countries of the Coalition have agreed to the creation of a ceasefire monitoring mechanism under the leadership of the United States with contributions from several countries. Likewise, the agreement in Paris outlines the outlines of a Ukrainian force of 800,000 troops with the training, capabilities and all the necessary resources to guarantee that this army can deter any new aggression.

Generally speaking, Ukraine’s allies are “legally” committed to supporting Ukraine in the event of a new Russian attack.

The five main points of the Paris declaration address two issues of particular interest: first, the constitution of the Multinational Force for Ukraine based on the contributions of the member countries of the Coalition; “coordinated military planning,” reads the statement, “to prepare security measures on land, sea and air,” as well as the regeneration of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

“Measures,” the statement added, “will be implemented strictly at the request of Ukraine once a credible cessation of hostilities has occurred.”

“BINDING” COMMITMENTS

Likewise, the Paris meeting has culminated in the “finalization of binding commitments that establish an approach to support Ukraine and restore peace and security in the event of a future armed attack by Russia” and that may include the use of “military capabilities, logistical and intelligence support, diplomatic initiatives and the adoption of additional sanctions.”

Cooperation with the Ukrainian Army will cover multiple areas, from troop training to joint defense industry production, including the use of relevant European instruments, and intelligence cooperation.

Likewise, a “constant and reliable” system will be established for monitoring the ceasefire and the Coalition represented in a future “special commission” that will be established to address any “non-compliance, attribute responsibility and determine corrective measures.”

All these initiatives, the statement adds, will be coordinated through a tripartite headquarters between the Coalition, the United States and Ukraine, in Paris.

FRENCH-BRITISH DEPLOYMENT

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer took the opportunity to announce the signing of a “declaration of intent” for a Franco-British deployment in Ukraine in the event of a peace agreement.

“The signing of the declaration paves the way for the legal framework to be established for French and British forces to operate on Ukrainian soil, securing the skies and seas of Ukraine and building a future-ready armed forces,” Prime Minister Starmer said in a simultaneous statement published by his office.

“The United Kingdom and France will establish ‘military centres’ in Ukraine, building protected facilities for weapons and military equipment to support Ukraine’s defense needs,” the statement added.

GERMANY OPENLY PROPOSES ITS INDIRECT DEPLOYMENT

In his speech, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz openly raised the possibility of his country participating in the deployment in “a neighboring NATO territory.”

“The nature and extent of the German contribution must and will be decided by the federal government and the German Bundestag as soon as the aforementioned conditions are clarified,” Merz said.

“But I want to say, on my behalf and on behalf of the federal government, that, in principle, we are not ruling out anything,” he indicated.

NORTH AMERICAN SUPPORT

Accompanying the leaders of France, Germany, Ukraine and the United Kingdom at a press conference, the US special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, celebrated an “important success” reflected in this statement, which resolves many of the doubts that remained in the air regarding the future security of Ukraine.

“We believe that we have already finished with the security protocols,” said Witkoff, while Kushner has assured for his part that Ukraine, in a post-war future “will have a solid deterrence capacity and true protection mechanisms to guarantee that this does not happen again.”

THE QUESTION OF TERRITORIES

In his turn to speak, Zelensky also applauded the Paris Declaration, of which he especially celebrated its detailed nature that “illustrates the will of the coalition and the European countries to work for peace.”

“We want to be prepared so that when diplomacy reaches peace, we can deploy the forces of the coalition of the willing,” he added before recalling, however, that there is still an unbridgeable difference for now when it comes to finishing certifying peace with Russia: the future status of the territories conquered by Moscow.

“What we really have to work on is the question of territory,” said Zelensky, who has been hinting for weeks that any admission that Ukraine will lose part of the country if peace is signed will have to be ratified either by the national Parliament or through a popular plebiscite.