Zelensky again spoke out against a ceasefire without NATO membership or the deployment of Western troops

The Ukrainian government may consider French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal to deploy Western troops on Ukrainian territory as a security guarantee.

This was stated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a meeting with Friedrich Merz, the Christian Democratic Union’s candidate for German Chancellor.

In Zelensky’s view, the deployment of foreign troops could serve as a temporary solution until Ukraine gains NATO membership, which Kyiv is strongly advocating for. He plans to discuss Ukraine’s invitation to join the Alliance again with U.S. President Joe Biden in the near future.

“We talked about the fact that even if there is a pause where Ukraine is not in NATO, and even if we have an invitation but are not yet members, what happens during this time? Who guarantees us security? I’ll be honest with you, we can consider and work on Emmanuel’s proposal. Remember, he suggested that some troops from one country or another could be stationed in certain areas of Ukraine to guarantee our security until we are in NATO. But before that, we need a clear understanding of when Ukraine will join the EU and NATO,” Zelensky said.

He also confirmed that he discussed a “frozen conflict” and security guarantees with Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron.

“When we talk about a frozen conflict, let’s be honest—we discussed it. I said that we, more than anyone else in the world, want to end the war. A diplomatic end to the war would undoubtedly save more lives, and we want that. But I emphasized to both Macron and Trump: first of all, you’ll see that Putin doesn’t want this war to end. That’s one. He needs to be forced. The only way to force him is if Ukraine is strong. Ukraine must be strong before any diplomacy can work—this means strength on the battlefield, a strong army, weapons packages, and so on. Long-range systems, ATACMS, Taurus, Storm Shadow—these are critically important for us, and solely for military purposes. We’ve stressed this, alongside the need for security guarantees. Right now, we cannot be in NATO, but we can have an invitation. And such security guarantees are essential for us. That’s what we discussed,” Zelensky explained.

Based on his remarks, Zelensky is unwilling to cease hostilities without receiving concrete security guarantees, which he envisions as either NATO membership or the deployment of Western troops in Ukraine.

Effectively, during the Paris meeting, Zelensky proposed to Donald Trump not to freeze the conflict but rather to increase support for Ukraine, formally invite it to NATO, and continue military operations until security guarantees are provided.

Notably, after returning to the U.S., Trump made several contradictory statements. He called for an immediate ceasefire and negotiations and even hinted at significantly reducing aid to Kyiv after his inauguration.

From this, it can be concluded that Zelensky’s arguments in Paris likely did not change Trump’s stance.