Paris, March 13 (IANS) Defence Ministers from Europe’s top five military powers, France, Germany, Britain, Italy and Poland, met in Paris and voiced support for the Ukrainian army.
In a joint declaration published after the meeting, the ministers agreed to strengthen European support for peace in Ukraine, including accelerating defence industrial cooperation projects with Ukraine, Xinhua news agency reported.
Speaking at a joint press conference, French defence minister Sebastien Lecornu told reporters that the defence capacity of the Ukrainian army would be “one of the first security guarantees” for Kyiv.
According to Lecornu, “the true guarantee of long-term security will be the capacities that we can provide to the Ukrainian army.”
Italian defence minister Guido Crosetto said that there would be no future for Ukraine “without the ability to defend itself.”
The ministers also agreed to consolidate their common approach to European defense within the frameworks of the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
They said in the joint declaration that they would maintain a “strong” transatlantic bond while significantly increasing Europe’s contribution to the continent’s deterrence and defence.
When asked if the ministers discussed how to develop an independent European defence system in case of the US withdrawal, German defence minister Boris Pistorius said that it was a topic that has already “preoccupied” Europe for a while.
He proposed that Europe should work on administrative simplifications both at national and European levels to standardise weapon systems in different European countries. For him, European countries need to work together on European security.
Ukraine agreed on Tuesday to a US proposal for an “immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire” following talks with a US delegation in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, according to a joint statement.
The talks, notably held without European participation, resulted in the statement that Ukraine would receive renewed US security assistance and America got preliminary approval for access to Ukraine’s mineral resources.
Despite being left out of negotiations, European leaders welcomed the progress made between the US and Ukraine while continuing efforts to strengthen the continent’s defense capabilities.
