UK and France to discuss needs for possible contingent with Ukrainian colleagues – Macron
Britain and France will assemble a team to discuss with their Ukrainian counterparts their needs regarding a possible contingent, Ukraine "knows exactly what it needs," French President Emmanuel Macron said.
"This is a Franco-British proposal regarding these support forces [contingent]. It was accepted by Ukraine. It was not approved unanimously, but we do not need unanimous consent for this. So how are we going to prepare for this? We said: the British and French chiefs of staff will assemble a team that will meet with their Ukrainian colleagues. The Ukrainians will tell us what their needs are," Macron said following the meeting of leaders on support for Ukraine.
He noted that he had a "very good discussion" on this issue yesterday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and "Ukraine knows exactly what they need."
"And so these military discussions will allow us to define the locations, the number of troops so that it inspires confidence, and the capabilities. So nothing is excluded," Macron added.
He stressed that Russia has no right to dictate what will happen on Ukrainian territory.
"We have agreed on this [contingents], and we will work on this. Yes, there will be a pacification force with the participation of a number of European countries, and these forces will be deployed in Ukraine," the French president emphasized.