French defence minister to host key European counterparts on Ukraine

French defence minister to host key European counterparts on Ukraine
by AFP Staff Writers
Paris (AFP) Mar 7, 2025

France's defence minister is to hold talks next week with counterparts from Britain, Germany, Italy and Poland to discuss support for Ukraine, an aide said on Friday.

The ministers from Europe's five main military powers will meet in Paris on Wednesday, a day after France hosts a key meeting of European military chiefs of staff.

"In view of a recent American decision to suspend military aid to Ukraine, the ministers will discuss coordinating action of our countries in support of Kyiv," a source close to Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu, asking not to be named, told AFP.

"They will also discuss necessary rearmament of Europe and our respective countries, which is essential to guarantee our collective security in the long term."

The defence ministers of the five countries previously met in Berlin in November and in Poland in January.0

European countries have been scrambling to boost support for Ukraine as US President Donald Trump pursues direct talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to end Moscow's three-year invasion of Ukraine.

French President Emmanuel Macron has called for a defence spending surge and suggested extending France's nuclear deterrent to European partners in response.

On Tuesday, France will host talks with military chiefs of staff whose nations are ready to offer Ukraine military support after any peace deal ending the war with Russia, a source close to Macron said.

During a televised address on Wednesday evening, Macron confirmed he would receive the heads of the European armies next week. It has not been announced which countries will be represented at those talks.

The objective is to discuss a possible deployment of European forces in Ukraine if a peace accord was signed, to guarantee "respect" of a peace deal, he said.

- Gabbard due in Paris -

US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard would also be in Paris next week to meet the French national intelligence coordinator, a source close to the discussions said, confirming a report on the Intelligence Online (IOL) website.

The source did not say what would be discussed.

Before she was confirmed last month, Gabbard faced questions over her 2017 meeting with now-deposed Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and her peddling of Kremlin propaganda, particularly false conspiracy theories about the Ukraine war.

France on Thursday said Paris was providing military intelligence to Ukraine, after Washington suspended sharing its own with Kyiv.

Trump and Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky had a public falling out in the Oval Office last week after which Ukraine's top ally suspended crucial US military aid.

CIA director John Ratcliffe said Wednesday the United States had also "paused" intelligence sharing with Ukraine.

Turkey ready to send troops to Ukraine 'if needed': defence ministry source
Istanbul (AFP) Mar 6, 2025 - Turkey would be ready to deploy troops to Ukraine as part of a broader peacekeeping mission if needed, a Turkish defence ministry source said on Thursday.

"The issue of contributing to a mission... will be evaluated with all relevant parties if deemed necessary for the establishment of regional stability and peace," the source said.

His remarks came as European Union leaders were meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Brussels to seek ways of bolstering the defences of both Ukraine and Europe after US President Donald Trump suspended military aid to Kyiv and intelligence sharing to help it fight off Russia's invasion.

Paris and London have already expressed a willingness to deploy troops to Ukraine to ensure that a possible future ceasefire is preserved, without saying what role those troops would play.

Bolstering European defences has taken on acute urgency after Trump made clear his desire to quickly end the three-year war in Ukraine through direct negotiations with Moscow.

NATO member Turkey has sought to maintain good relations with both of its Black Sea neighbours since the Russian invasion three years ago and has twice hosted direct talks aimed at ending the war.