US position influences number of peacekeepers in Ukraine – Zelensky
Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the dialogue with European peacekeepers in Ukraine is ongoing. If the United States joins the process, the number of countries that want to join may increase.
According to RBC-Ukraine, the president said this during a Zoom briefing for journalists.
Journalists asked Zelensky who, besides Britain and France, could join the initiative, what number of troops are involved, what their function will be, and what laws Ukraine needs to adopt to implement this.
Answering the question, Zelensky noted that he could not say anything about legislative initiatives at the moment since "we have not yet reached this point."
Commenting on the number of troops, the head of state noted that the number may be announced differently because there are different visions, and this issue depends on many factors.
"First of all, there are countries that are ready to provide a contingent, including those that are ready to provide a contingent in the event of repeated aggression. There are also countries that are ready to deploy a contingent in Ukraine and those that are ready to deploy on the border.
Some are ready [to deploy—ed.] in dangerous places, and some are prepared only at sea or in the central large cities of Ukraine," the Ukrainian leader informed.
In this regard, as Zelensky noted, it is now necessary to work out a general vision. In particular, specific countries with a specific number of troops should appear on the map in places where they are ready to deploy.
Ukraine will actively engage in dialogue with these countries to identify suitable locations for deployment. President Zelensky asserted that this initiative would be beneficial under any circumstances.
The president also announced his visit to France next week, where he will hold meetings with several different countries on the issue of the peacekeeping contingent. Moreover, the number of countries and military personnel directly depends on what the United States is ready for in this process.
"That is, we are in this direction today. It is very generalized. And all this still depends on what the United States of America and President Trump are ready to do in this infrastructure. This is important. This also affects the number of countries that are ready to be present with us; it involves a lot, I will tell you honestly.
And not only on the number of countries but also on the quantitative composition of a particular country. With the United States of America in one format or another, there may be more countries," Zelensky summed up.
During the interview, President Zelensky requested that his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, postpone their conversation, as Macron had called during Zelensky's discussion with journalists.
The video shows how, during an online conversation with journalists, the president suddenly picks up his personal phone and tells the receiver that he cannot speak right now.
"Excuse me, Emmanuel, but I am talking to journalists right now. Can I come back in 15-20 minutes, please? Great, thank you, bye-bye," Zelensky said.
After that, he continued to answer the journalist's questions. Then, when the floor was given to a representative of the French media France24, he asked the Ukrainian president to confirm that he had just spoken to Macron.
"Yes, I have just spoken to President Emmanuel Macron. We communicate with him very often, once a day on average. We have very close relations between our countries; he helps a lot. I am grateful to him for that," Zelensky replied.
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Moreover, French leader Emmanuel Macron announced the possibility of deploying troops to Ukraine's territory, sparking a discussion among Ukraine's allies.
Later, France explained that it was not about directly sending troops to participate in hostilities. Some NATO countries, including Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Canada, said they were ready to consider such an opportunity.
In January of this year, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that Germany is ready to consider participating in peacekeeping missions in Ukraine. Still, this issue will arise only when the appropriate time comes.
Subsequently, British officials held talks with representatives of about 20 countries interested in creating a "coalition of the willing" that could send peacekeepers to Ukraine.
On March 2, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed the "coalition of the willing" plans to ensure the implementation of any peace agreement on Ukraine, and London will play a key role in it.
The other day, The Times wrote that Britain is ready to deploy 10,000 soldiers to Ukraine. Moreover, they could be stationed there for many years.
In turn, President Volodymyr Zelensky previously stated that since Ukraine needs security guarantees until there is an invitation to join NATO, the proposal of the head of France regarding the presence of troops of other states on Ukrainian territory can be considered.
The Ukrainian leader said that 100 thousand peacekeepers will be needed to maintain peace between Ukraine and the Russian Federation: the Ukrainian military has already prepared a map for the allies.
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