Ukraine's allies meet amid doubts over guarantees, US backing

4/9/2025 17:00

Some 30 Western leaders were holding talks on Thursday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy over security guarantees for Kyiv in the event of a peace deal with Russia, hoping to do enough to persuade the United States to back their efforts.



The summit in Paris of the "coalition of the willing" brought together leaders from Europe, Australia, Japan and Canada, with even neighbouring countries choosing to attend by video-link.



Members of the coalition, which does not include the U.S., have talked for months at various levels to define their prospective military support for Ukraine to help deter Russia from attacking it again if and when there is a final truce - currently still a remote prospect.



But those efforts have stalled as governments have said any European military role would need its own U.S. security guarantees as a "backstop". President Donald Trump has made no explicit commitment to provide those.