Macron Says Ukraine Security Guarantees To Be Agreed With US In 'Coming Days'

French President Emmanuel Macron said 26 countries have agreed to take part in post-war security guarantees for Ukraine and that US support for the plan will be finalized in the coming days.

Macron was speaking after hosting a day of hybrid diplomacy from the Elysee Palace in Paris on September 4.

Leaders from around 30 of Ukraine's Western allies met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss security guarantees for the war-torn country to follow any peace deal reached with Russia to end Europe's largest and deadliest conflict since World War II.

The talks were followed by a video conference with US President Donald Trump.

Zelenskyy, Macron Say Allies Agree On Post-War Security Guarantees

Macron said that 26 countries "have committed themselves to deploying troops as a reassurance force in Ukraine or to be present on the ground, at sea, or in the air."

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The forces would not be deployed on the front line, he said, but in areas yet to be decided upon.

"In the coming days, we will finalize American support for these security guarantees. The United States, as I said, was involved in all stages of the process," Macron said.

The United States has yet to commit to a clear post-war role. Washington's participation is seen as crucial to backstopping the allies' efforts.

Zelenskyy, speaking at a joint news conference with Macron, said that as soon as a draft paper was approved by the United States, further steps would be taken.

"It is important that the United States is with us. We talked with President Trump today. Many thanks for his involvement," Zelenskyy said.

The two leaders also addressed efforts to secure a meeting between Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"If Russia continues to refuse concrete peace discussions...we will take additional sanctions in conjunction with the United States of America," Macron said. "This is also what President Trump expressed earlier during this call."

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Efforts to make this happen have repeatedly been stalled by Moscow. On September 3, Putin said he would meet Zelenskyy in Moscow. Given Russia's ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the venue is completely unacceptable to Zelenskyy, who has proposed meetings at neutral venues such as Turkey.

"Putin wants to meet with me in Moscow. That means Russia does not want to have a meeting," Zelenskyy said in Paris.

There was a mood of anticipation ahead of the Paris talks as NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte had said the previous day that he expected "clarity" on what security guarantees could be delivered in the coming days.

Trump has previously said European countries will have to shoulder most of the burden in providing the guarantees, with Washington backing the operations up "probably...by air."

There was no immediate comment from Washington on the outcome of the September 4 talks.

Russia has rejected the idea of European troops on the ground in Ukraine, with President Vladimir Putin warning Moscow is willing to "resolve all our tasks militarily" if an acceptable peace agreement cannot be found.

The Coalition of the Willing that joined the Paris talks includes some 30 nations backing Ukraine, mainly European but also Canada, Australia, and Japan.