European leaders reveal some details of Coalition of the Willing meeting
European leaders have begun sharing details of an online meeting of the Coalition of the Willing that took place on the evening of 11 December.
Source: European Pravda with reference to posts on social media by the leaders of the participating countries
Details: Finnish President Alexander Stubb said that he took part in the coalition meeting alongside Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, as he is currently on a visit to The Hague. His statement suggests that the coalition now includes 34 countries.
"We got an update of the situation from Volodymyr Zelenskyy and talked about the next steps towards peace. This group of 34 countries has supported Ukraine throughout the war and continues its support now in this crucial phase," Stubb wrote.
In his post, Schoof noted that the coalition leaders had discussed the latest developments in talks on a potential peace agreement. He stressed that Europe needs to accelerate and scale up its joint support for Ukraine and structure it with a long-term perspective in mind.
"To achieve a lasting peace, there can be no decisions about Ukraine without Ukraine. And it's crucial for NATO and Europe to be closely involved in the process and decide on matters that concern us, such as security guarantees, sanctions and frozen assets," the Dutch prime minister emphasised.
He added that sooner or later Russia must be held accountable for its war crimes in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the coalition is working to ensure that security guarantees include serious elements of European deterrence.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, commenting on the meeting, stressed that guarantees for Ukraine under a potential agreement must not become a new Budapest Memorandum.
Background:
- On Tuesday 9 December, Zelenskyy reported that work at the level of national security advisers on Ukraine's and Europe's proposals for a peace plan had been completed.
- Axios reported that Ukraine, European leaders and the United States will hold talks in Paris on 13 December on Trump's "peace plan".
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