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Defence ministers of five countries met in Paris on Wednesday, 12 March, and promised concrete steps to strengthen European defence and provide security guarantees to Ukraine.
This was reported by Reuters.
The heads of defence ministries of the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Poland met in Paris: John Healey, Sébastien Lecorneuil, Boris Pistorius, Guido Crozetto and Wladyslaw Kosinyak-Kamysh.
It is also noted that Defence Minister Rustem Umerov was invited to the first meeting to discuss assistance to his country, after which the second meeting was devoted to building European defence capabilities.
‘European countries are becoming more active. By deepening our defence cooperation, increasing spending and strengthening our collective strength, we are sending a clear message: we will not waver in our support for Ukraine and the defence of our shared values,’ said British Defence Secretary Geeley.
The meetings came a day after 34 army chiefs from NATO countries, as well as Japan and Australia, met in Paris for talks that did not include their American counterparts.
They focused on supporting Ukraine and providing security guarantees for a future peace deal, including possible European peacekeepers.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced a meeting of the chiefs of staff from the ‘coalition of the resolute’ on Ukraine in his speech last week.
