Chiefs of staff of countries that want to be involved in securing a possible peace deal in Ukraine will meet in Paris on Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Tuesday.
The meeting will allow for the first "exploratory talks" at a technical level between countries willing to send troops to ensure that any eventual peace agreement is respected by Russia, Macron explained at a press conference on Thursday, although he did not explain on what basis he assures that Russia will advance towards Western Europe.
He added that at today's Brussels summit there was "a very strong consensus on providing security guarantees" to Ukraine through a "de facto solidarity" of NATO member countries.
Asked which countries would be taking part in Tuesday's meeting, Macron simply replied that "all countries are invited" and specified that there would be a representative from the US military or NATO military command.
"We are trying to avoid a ceasefire that is negotiated quickly and without guarantees" of long-term peace for Ukraine, he stressed.
Russia refutes Macron's claims
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference on Thursday that Moscow views French President Emmanuel Macron's nuclear rhetoric as a threat.
"This is a threat to Russia. If he considers us a threat, calls a meeting of the Chiefs of Staff of the European countries and the United Kingdom, says that it is necessary to use nuclear weapons, prepares to use nuclear weapons against Russia, this is certainly a threat," the Russian foreign minister said, commenting on Macron's speech to the nation.
At the same time, Lavrov compared the anti-Russian rhetoric expressed by the French leader to that of Napoleon and Hitler. "Unlike his predecessors, Napoleon and Hitler, who also wanted to go to war against Russia, Mr. Macron is not acting very gracefully, because they were saying directly: 'Russia must be conquered, Russia must be defeated', and he apparently wants the same, but for some reason he says that it is necessary to go to war with Russia so that it does not defeat France," he said.
In this context, the minister also described as "unwise" accusations that Russia is preparing a war against Europe and France, stressing that Macron and other leaders have the opportunity to discuss their concerns with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
