Steven Witkoff, the special envoy of US President Donald Trump, left a high-level meeting of the “coalition of the willing” in Paris after just 45 minutes, where the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine was under discussion. The session included French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz joined remotely, while Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was unable to attend due to a government plane malfunction.
Private Meeting With Zelensky
After leaving the session, Witkoff held a separate meeting with Zelensky. The talks were preceded by a discussion between Witkoff, Ukrainian presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak, and National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov, along with European national security advisers. The Witkoff-Zelensky meeting lasted around 25 minutes, ending at 15:06 Moscow time, just as both leaders were expected to rejoin Trump and European counterparts for an online conference.
Zelensky later said the talks focused on security guarantees for Ukraine on land, sea, air, and in cyberspace. He emphasized that participants agreed on the need to maintain the potential of Ukraine’s armed forces.
Coalition Signals Readiness to Supply Long-Range Missiles
Following the Paris meeting, the British Prime Minister’s office confirmed that coalition members were prepared to provide Ukraine with long-range missiles. London also reiterated its “unbreakable commitment” to Kyiv, backed by Trump. Starmer expressed distrust in Russian President Vladimir Putin and called for tougher sanctions on Moscow.
Macron announced that work on security guarantees had been completed, stating that European nations were prepared to offer commitments once a ceasefire was in place. On September 4, the French president revealed a draft proposal that included the possible deployment of foreign troops, with 26 countries signaling readiness to send forces or support the presence of an armed contingent.
Coalition Splits Over Troop Deployment
Reports from the Financial Times suggested that the coalition had fractured into three camps: supporters of deploying troops, led by the UK; opponents of troop deployment, led by Italy; and undecided states, with Germany at the center. An official from the Élysée Palace confirmed that technical work on security guarantees was complete, but stressed that the US must share responsibility for any deployment.
According to Spiegel, Germany had proposed focusing on supporting Ukraine’s air defenses and producing long-range precision weapons. Berlin was also willing to consider troop deployments if the US participated and if agreements on conflict settlement were reached.
