European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is greeted by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace in Paris, 17 February 2025. Photo: EPA-EFE / TERESA SUAREZ

European leaders meeting at a hastily convened summit in Paris to discuss a unified response to the direct US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia reiterated their continuing support for Ukraine, though remained divided on how to proceed, The Guardian reported on Monday.

The leaders of eight European countries as well as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, attended the Paris summit convened by French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday.

Expressing their scepticism about the Trump administration’s rush to strike a peace deal with Russia, the leaders warned that in order for any peace deal to last, Ukraine would have to be involved in the negotiating process and meaningful security guarantees would have to be provided to the country.

Following the meeting, Macron wrote on X that Europe needed to provide “strong and credible security guarantees for the Ukrainians” and “invest better, more, and together in their security and defence — both for today and for the future”.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told reporters after the meeting that while no binding decisions had been made, the participants held “similar views” on all key issues, though he stressed that Poland would not at present be willing to commit troops to Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping force.

Sounding a conciliatory note, German Chancellor Olof Scholz called for Europe and the US to share the responsibility of guaranteeing Ukraine’s security, Deutsche Welle reported. “NATO is based on the fact that we always act together and share risk, thereby ensuring our security,” Scholz said, adding that until the details of any potential peace deal were known, it was premature to talk of sending peacekeepers to Ukraine.