French President Emmanuel Macron stated on the 25th that France and the United Kingdom will soon take the lead in establishing a working group to coordinate security guarantees for Ukraine after a future ceasefire with Russia, and that the United States will participate.
That afternoon, a video conference was held by the "coalition of volunteers" supporting Ukraine, led by France and the UK and composed of over 30 countries. Macron made the remarks in a statement following the meeting.
He said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US Secretary of State Rubio also participated in the video conference.
He stated that the working group will clarify which parties are willing to offer security guarantees to Ukraine and what specific tasks each will be responsible for. Among them, Turkey will mainly take on responsibilities in maritime defense.
He pointed out that France, together with other EU countries, will draw up a plan to use Russia's frozen overseas assets to provide financial support to Ukraine.
Macron called for "continued pressure" to force Russia to agree to negotiations, and called for the building of a "strong" and "unrestricted" Ukrainian army after the ceasefire, to deter Russia.
After the United States proposed a new 28-point plan last week to end the Ukraine crisis, European countries made a "counter-proposal," including opposition to limiting the size of the Ukrainian armed forces.