There were "many questions," but "few answers": Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made no secret of his dismay at the conclusion of talks held in Paris on Thursday, March 27, on the possible deployment of European troops in Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire with Russia. Earlier, at the end of a meeting at the Elysée of the "coalition of the willing" of some 30 countries, French President Emmanuel Macron had once again argued in favor of the idea, which he said would deter Russia from launching new offensives.

In reality, although the prospect is raised in part so that the Europeans have a say in negotiations from which it feels excluded, no decision has been taken. All that has been agreed is to send a French-British military "mission" to Ukraine "in the next few days," so as to have a clearer "picture" within "three or four weeks" of the country's needs. "A multidisciplinary team with specialists in law, human resources and training," the French military's general staff told Le Monde on Thursday.

Macron acknowledged that the idea of sending troops has not been met with unanimous approval. The troops, the core of whom would be French and British, would "not be peacekeeping forces, present along the front lines or a replacement for Ukrainian forces," Macron reiterated. Rather, they would be sent to "certain strategic locations pre-identified with the Ukrainians" and would have a "deterrent character" around major cities or sensitive sites, he said.

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