Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda and the leaders of 10 European countries, along with the European Union, have called for the creation of a European-led multinational force to help secure a potential peace agreement in Ukraine.
In a joint statement issued Monday, the presidents of the European Council and the European Commission joined the leaders of Lithuania, Germany, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom in outlining steps toward what they described as a just and lasting peace.
The leaders welcomed what they said was recent progress in peace talks and pledged continued, large-scale military support for Ukraine. They said Ukraine’s armed forces should remain at a peacetime strength of about 800,000 troops to deter future conflict and defend the country’s territory.
Under the proposal, a European-led multinational force operating within the framework of the so-called Coalition of the Willing – and supported by the United States – could operate in Ukraine. The force would help regenerate Ukraine’s military, protect its airspace and ensure the security of maritime navigation, the statement said.
An additional element would be a US-led ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanism with international participation. According to President Nausėda’s office, the mechanism would provide early warning of any future attack, attribute and respond to violations of a ceasefire, and establish a deconfliction process to support mutual de-escalation.
The leaders also pledged to invest in Ukraine’s long-term recovery and reconstruction, including providing major financial resources, pursuing mutually beneficial trade agreements and addressing the need for Russia to compensate Ukraine for war-related damage. They reiterated strong support for Ukraine’s future membership in the European Union.
Nausėda and the other leaders voiced support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and reaffirmed that international borders must not be changed by force. Decisions on territory, they said, must be made by the Ukrainian people once robust security guarantees are in place.
The statement stressed that any agreement must be comprehensive, noting that “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed”, and said all parties must work intensively toward a durable end to the fighting. Issues affecting the EU and NATO, the leaders added, must be discussed among their respective members.
The leaders said it was now up to Russia to demonstrate a willingness to pursue peace by agreeing to US President Donald Trump’s proposed peace plan and committing to a ceasefire. They agreed to continue increasing pressure on Moscow and called on other countries to join those efforts.
Trump said after a phone call Monday with Zelensky and European leaders that a deal to end the war was closer than ever. Zelensky earlier described talks with Trump’s envoys as difficult but said they had produced progress on security guarantees.
The Ukrainian leader welcomed new security assurances from Washington but said differences remained over potential territorial concessions Ukraine might be asked to make to Russia.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
