Euronews reported on the local time of November 25 that French President Macron stated that France and the UK will lead a "working group" to coordinate specific arrangements for providing security guarantees to Ukraine in all directions after the Russia-Ukraine ceasefire, with the United States and Turkey participating.

On the same day, a video conference was held by the "voluntary coalition" led by France and the UK, consisting of 35 countries. Secretary of State Rubio of the United States and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy participated online, discussing the peace agreement initiated by the United States. In a statement after the meeting, Macron made the above remarks, stating that the working group will finalize details of security guarantees and specific contributions from each participant.

On the local time of November 25, French President Macron participated in the video conference of the "voluntary alliance." France24

In the meeting, France and the UK urged the members of the "voluntary alliance" to provide strong security guarantees for Ukraine to maintain the future peace agreement, including dispatching ground forces to form multinational forces.

The report pointed out that the original "28-point peace plan" between the US and Russia excluded any NATO presence on Ukrainian territory, which is consistent with Russia's long-standing position, but France and the UK still insisted that their military presence would help prevent new "aggressions."

Macron said in his opening speech: "The absolute condition for achieving a good peace is a very strong set of security guarantees, not paper promises. Ukraine has received many promises, but they have all turned into nothing because of Russia. Therefore, practical and reliable security guarantees are essential."

Earlier that day, Macron explained to the media that the so-called "reassurance forces" envisioned by the alliance would be deployed in strategic locations across Ukraine, such as Kyiv and Odessa, "After the signing of the peace agreement, soldiers from France, the UK, and Turkey will be stationed there to conduct training and security operations; we never planned to deploy them on the front lines."

UK Prime Minister Starmer expressed a similar position during the meeting: "We need to develop plans and allocate funds to build Ukraine's future defense capabilities so that it can defend itself. The multinational forces we train will be a crucial part of this."

This year, France and the UK have consistently called for sending ground forces to Ukraine after the war, a high-risk mission that has caused serious divisions among Western countries. Sweden, Denmark, and Australia expressed willingness to participate, while Poland, Greece, and Italy explicitly refused.

In the meeting, Macron emphasized in his speech that sanctions should continue to pressure Russia and use the frozen assets of the Russian Central Bank to support Ukraine. He also called for building a "strong" and "unrestricted" Ukrainian army after the ceasefire to deter Russia.

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