European countries clash over sending troops to Ukraine

European countries clashed over sending troops to Ukraine at a crisis meeting intended to reach a consensus on how to respond to US President Donald Trump’s peace talks with Russia, reported from Financial Times.

As leaders convened in Paris for the summit on Monday afternoon, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain expressed a reluctance to dispatch peacekeeping forces to the war-torn country, hours after Britain offered to put “boots on the ground”. The meeting, which France hoped would also yield plans to help European countries boost defense spending, was hosted by President Emmanuel Macron and attended by the leaders of six other EU countries, the UK and officials from NATO and the EU. Macron and Trump spoke before and after the Paris summit.

According to officials briefed on the meeting, France proposed a “reassurance force” that would be stationed behind, not on, a future ceasefire line in Ukraine. But in blunt remarks following the summit, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called a discussion about troop deployments “highly inappropriate” given the war was still being waged. “The discussion is completely premature, and it is the wrong time to have it,” said Scholz, who faces nationwide elections on Sunday and has long been cautious about the question of sending soldiers to Ukraine. He said he was “a little irritated” by the discussion, calling it “an incomprehensible debate at the wrong time and about the wrong topic.”

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told fellow leaders she was hesitant about sending European troops to Ukraine, saying it was “the most complex and least likely to be effective” of various options, according to people briefed on her remarks. UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was “prepared to consider committing British forces on the ground alongside others if there is a lasting peace agreement”.

However, he added: “There must be a US backstop. A US security guarantee is the only effective way to deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again.” Starmer confirmed he would meet Trump in Washington next week and would then hold further talks with European leaders on his return.

Macron said he would continue to consult European partners in the coming days, both on help for Ukraine and building up their own militaries.