EU Defence Ministers Discuss Security Guarantees to Ukraine in Paris

The defence ministers of four EU countries, the UK and their counterpart from Kyiv met in Paris on 12 March and promised concrete steps to strengthen European defence and provide security guarantees to Ukraine, Reuters reports.

The defence ministers of the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Poland met in Paris.

It is also noted that Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov was invited to the first meeting to discuss assistance to his country, after which the second meeting was devoted to building European defence capabilities.

‘European countries are becoming more active. By deepening our defence cooperation, increasing spending and strengthening our collective strength, we are sending a clear message: we will not waver in our support for Ukraine and the defence of our shared values,’ said British Defence Secretary John Healey.

In his turn, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius noted that Europe needs a much more unified approach to the procurement of military equipment, as the continent cannot afford to waste time on unnecessary bureaucracy.

‘We want to buy more, we want to buy consistently and at the same time... we want to deregulate both at the European level and in our nation states... We can buy cheaper together,’ he said.

Pistorius added that Europe cannot afford to let bureaucracy delay the increase in defence spending, which could also slow down Germany's economy. ‘We don't have that time, it's unnecessary and expensive,’ he said.

The meetings came a day after 34 army chiefs from NATO countries, as well as Japan and Australia, met in Paris for talks that did not include their American counterparts.

They focused on supporting Ukraine and providing security guarantees for a future peace deal, including possible European peacekeepers.

As The Gaze reported, during the talks with the US in Saudi Arabia, Ukraine agreed to an immediate 30-day ceasefire, provided that Russia also takes this step. The parties ‘agreed that it was time to start the process of establishing a lasting peace’.