On January 6th and 7th a summit of the “Coalition of the willing” took place in Paris, gathering all in all representatives from 35 countries, in order to discuss further common actions in the Ukraine conflict. At the first day of the summit a “declaration of intent” was presented and signed by President Macron, PM Keir Starmer and Ukrainian President V. Zelensky. By carefully studying the document of Marcon, Starmer and Zelensky, as well as the final press conference given on January 7th, it became clear that the declarations are based on a lot of “empty” words, given that Europe alone doesn’t have the “means” to secure a future peace. This is all the more evident on the background of the failed and embarrassing EU summit Mid December in Brussels where the Merz / von der Leyen plan to confiscate 210 bn Euro Russian assets from Euroclear, was rejected, due among others to the consistent opposition shown by Belgium’s Prime Minister Bart de Wever.
The dilemma of EU is that it wants to win the war against Russia, despite the fact that Russia is winning on the battle field, while it also is eager to get the US on its side, so as to push for a ceasefire. The US in turn wants to end the war as quickly as possible, while Europe wants to defeat Russia and is committed to turn its economy from a peaceful economy into a “war economy” with all its consequences for the European peoples. In reality Europe is not interested to accept Russia as a “partner” in future peace negotiations that could pave the way for peace in Ukraine and a comprehensive European Security Structure in Europe.
A good example which illustrates the “dilemma” of the EU was the New Year’s press conference given by Hungarian Minister President Orbán in Budapest (Jan 5th), in which V. Orbán adamantly declared to the gathered international press, that under his presidency Hungary will n o t become part of “Europe’s drive for war.” That “it will n o t participate in Europe’s war economy”, but opt for “peace.” He spoke about the “European Council” de facto having been transformed into a “war council” and stated that the upcoming Hungarian elections April 2026 will be “the last elections before war.” In a related interview to APT, Orbán ,when being confronted with statements by GB’s Armed Forces Minister Al Carns, who in 2025 had said that “the shadow of war already is knocking again on Europe’s doors” ,as well as a statement by NATO General Secretary Mark Rutte who in a speech at an MSC meeting in Berlin recently has stated “that we must get accustomed to war in the same way our forefathers experienced it.” Orbán commented this by stating that the US and Europe are on a different path. Europe, he said, is on a “war path”, aimed at transforming its economy into a “war economy.” Hungary has to decide whether it wants to participate in such a war. We support the policy by the US that wants peace.” If this is possible, then also sanctions against Russia will be lifted.” “In Europe they have decided to go to war and discuss how to do it.”
Coalition of the willing Summit in Paris
On 6 th of January during the summit of the “Coalition of the Willing” in Paris, a declaration, entitled “Robust Security Guarantees for a Solid and Lasting Peace in Ukraine” was signed by President Macron, Pres. Zelensky and British PM Keir Starmer in the presence of their respective delegations and the press. This “declaration of intent” is based on 5 points. In point 1. the declaration emphasizes the intent to “participate in a proposed US -led ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanism.” It states, that “there will be a continuous, reliable ceasefire monitoring system, including contribution from members of the Coalition of the Willing. Point 2. emphasizes that the “Coalition agreed to continue critical long term military assistance and armament to the Armed Forces of Ukraine to ensure sustained capability, as they will remain the first line of defense and deterrence. This will include, but is not limited to, long term defense packages; support for financing the purchase of weapons; continued cooperation with Ukraine on its national budget to finance the armed forces; access to defense depots which can deliver rapid additional support in the case of a future armed attack; provision of practical and technical support to Ukraine in building defense fortifications.”
Point 3 speaks about the need for a “Multinational Force for Ukraine” (!) made up from contributions from the willing nations within the framework of the Coalition to support the rebuilding of Ukraine’s armed forces and support deterrence. It concerns “reassurance measures in the air, sea and on land for the regeneration of the armed forces of Ukraine.” (…) We confirmed that these reassurance measures should be strictly implemented at Ukraine’s request, once a credible cessation of hostilities has taken place. These elements will be European -led, with the involvement also of non- European members of the Coalition, and the proposed support of the US. Point 4: Binding commitments to support Ukraine in the case of a future attack by Russia in order to restore peace. These commitments may include the use of military capabilities, intelligence and logistical support, diplomatic initiatives, adoption of additional sanctions. Point 5: Commitment to deepen long-term defense cooperation with Ukraine. “We agreed we would continue to develop and deepen mutually beneficial defense cooperation with Ukraine, inter alia: training, defense industrial joint production, including with the use of European relevant instruments and intelligence cooperation. We have further decided to establish a US/Ukraine coalition coordination cell (!) at the Coalition Operational Headquarters in Paris.”
The final press conference of the Coalition of the Willing, that was given Jan 7th by French President Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Ukrainian President Zelensky, German Chancellor F. Merz and by the American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, demonstrated very clearly that the Europeans are remaining very vague, due to the realities on the battlefield, which Russia clearly dominates. They are “fixated” on the illusion of a “ceasefire” followed by a robust engagement of troops from France and GB on Ukrainian soil- despite the fact that Russia has officially declared and is demonstrating it day by day, that the entire Ukraine conflict will be decided on the battlefield.
Russian Foreign Ministry reaction
In a statement given on 8th of January 2026 by the Russian Foreign Ministry Official spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, she said in reference to the document “Robust security guarantees for a solid and Lasting peace in Ukraine,” that “London and Paris who signed the document together with Zelensky, plan to establish their own military bases in Ukraine post-ceasefire and build weapon and military equipment storage facilities.” According to her, “the document turned out to be extremely far from a peace settlement. The declaration is not aimed at achieving a lasting peace and security but rather a at continuing the militarization, escalation and further conflict aggravation. Its core element is the deployment of a ‘multinational force’ on Ukrainian territory that the coalition will have to form to contribute to the ‘rebuilding’ of the Ukrainian armed forces and ‘support deterrence’ following the cessation of the hostilities.” Zakharova warned that (…) “the deployment of military units and the setting up of military facilities, storages and other Western infrastructure on Ukrainian territory will be qualified as foreign intervention (sic) that directly threaten the security of Russia and other European countries. All such units and facilities will be considered as legitimate military targets for the Russian Armed Force.(!) Warnings to this effect have been repeatedly made at the highest level and remain relevant.” She reiterated the Russan position according to which “we reaffirm that a peaceful resolution of the conflict is solely possible through the elimination of its root causes, the re-establishment of Ukraine’s neutral non-aligned status, its demilitarization and denazification, and Kiev’s observance of the language, cultural and religious rights and freedoms, including those of ethnic Russians, Russian- speaking people, and members of ethnic minorities, and through the recognition of the current territorial realities that emerged as a result of the Peoples’ exercised right to self- determination. All these goals will, undoubtedly, be achieved either by political and diplomatic means or in the course of the special military operation, in which the Russian Armed Forces are maintaining full initiative on the battlefield.”
Final Press conference of the Coalition of the Willing -Peace in Europe without Russia?
A closer look at the various statements, made at the final press conference in Paris Jan 7th, shows that the real Coalition of the Willing is based on the commitments given by Macron and Keir Starmer, while German Chancellor Merz is not committed to send German troops on Ukrainian soil. The strongest point he made at the press conference was to give “security guarantees” and the fight against corruption in Ukraine: “Ukraine is expected to work hard to do its homework in the fight against corruption. Even after a ceasefire, Ukraine must ensure that its young men serve a secure and economically healthy Ukraine instead of leaving the country,” the Chancellor said. (This is in reference that the Ukrainian government had lifted the general ban on travel abroad for Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 22 in August 2025, and many young men are in Germany and other countries.)
French President Macron pointed out that “in recent months we have been able to consolidate our approach (…) we established a monitoring mechanism for the ceasefire here, led by the United States, but also with the participation of other countries that have agreed to do so. We want to achieve lasting peace, because the Ukrainian armed forces are still primarily focused on defense and deterrence in Ukraine. With 800.000 (!!) troops, we have a large armed force here that has many resources and capabilities at its disposal to repel any new attacks in the future. We have ensured that a ‘multinational force’ is being established at sea, in the air and on the ground. Here too we have built on the work done by the British and French Chiefs of Staff (!) to which all the others- the German, Italian, and Polish Chiefs of Staff – have also contributed. Turkey has also been involved in this, playing an important role and sharing this responsibility.” According to Macron “we want to achieve a lasting and solid peace in Ukraine and for Europe.” President Zelensky, in reference to the meeting he had in Mar- a- Lago with Trump at the close of the year 2025, underlined, that “we look forward to the support of the United States, because the aim is to prevent Russia from attacking Ukraine again. …. We agree that these guarantees must be enshrined in law and confirmed by the US Congress. There are still unresolved issues regarding the document, for example with regard to the 20- point document, and we need to work on the various territorial issues.”
British Prime Minister Keir Stramer- who, upon returning from the Brussels summit- came under strong fire from the British Tories, for committing himself to sacrifice the young men from GB in the war without consulting the parliament beforehand- made perhaps the most revealing and aggressive statement among all of the state leaders. He could not hide the fact that the UK w a s and still i s the most hawkish country in respect to the Ukraine war- i.e. it is committed to continue the war against Russia. During the press conference he emphasized that “President Macron and President Zelensky even signed a memorandum of understanding on the deployment of troops(sic) on Ukrainian soil in the event of a peace agreement. This is a step further in supporting Ukraine and paves the way for the legal basis, the legal framework, in which British, French and partner forces can support Ukraine on land, at sea and in the air. So, today I can say that as soon as a peace agreement is reached, British and French forces will also establish military bases in Ukraine (!) to protect the relevant infrastructure.” He further spoke about the fact that in the event of a ceasefire,” we will jointly participate in monitoring and verifying it, under American leadership. Second, we will support the supply of military equipment to Ukraine in the long term. Third we will work to shape binding commitments in such a way that Ukraine can also receive support in the event of a renewed attack by Russia. In this way we lay the practical foundations for lasting peace.” And that “GB is committed in 2026 to maintain pressure on Russia- including additional measures affecting oil trade, oil traders, and the shadow fleet- until Putin actually returns to the negotiating table with sincere and honest intentions.”
There was also the statement by US envoy Steve Witkoff who emphasized the “task that President Trump has set us is to achieve peace in Ukraine. That is why we must do everything we can to achieve this peace. (….) We heard from President Zelensky and several others who spoke about various territorial concessions. That was one of the important issues. I hope we will be able to reach compromises on this.”
The case of Jaques Baud, sanctioned by EU commission
What sticks out in the final press conference is that British PM Keir Starmer and French President Macron, aside the known diatribes from Zelensky, are in essence calling for the widening of the war against Russia, by systematically refusing to acknowledge the official Russian position on ceasefire and peace. This means that the second war party, namely Russia, which right now is gaining on the battlefield in Donbass, is blocked out from the search of a meaningful peace agreement. It promisingly began with the meeting in Anchorage (Alaska) in August 25 between Trump and Putin. Since then, the Europeans have tried desperately to sabotage Trump’s peace initiatives and refused to have any meaningful discussion with Russia. We should add another quite meaningful observation concerning the present state of mind of Europe and the European Commission. Namely shed light on the case of ret. Swiss Colonel and frm. Intelligence official Jacques Baud, who was sanctioned before the year end by the EU Commission, – a move initiated by France in order to stop Baud , “to spread pro-Russian narrative”. It was a “political move”, not a legal judiciary one, in response to Baud’s clear analysis that he has given about the Ukraine war during the last four years. Col Baud, who is of Swiss nationality was basically put into “sanction arrest” in Brussels on the orders of the European Commission. The well- known Swiss colonel and expert on the Ukraine war, who has written a series of excellent books, was deprived of everything: no access to any bank account. No possibility to buy food. The denial of his right to explain his own case. This is unprecedented, a political witch hunt on behalf of the EU commission, that reveals that the Commission has turned into an institution that is banning the “freedom of speech”.
