When European allies met in Paris to strengthen security guarantees for Ukraine, Trump's envoys were also there. It briefly offered hope that the voice would EU could be heard in Washington despite the fierce controversy over Greenland.
"We have largely completed the security protocols," said Steve Witkoff, one of the two envoys, as he stood with the leaders of France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Ukraine at the presidential palace in Paris. "This is important so that when this war is over, it will be over forever," Witkoff added.
However, even while France and the United Kingdom signed their determination to deploy troops to Ukraine in a post-war scenario, the US did not offer to come to the aid of those troops in the event that Russia threatens their security. Deutsche says.
What might the deployment look like?
This week, France, the United Kingdom and Ukraine signed a declaration of intent to deploy a "multinational force" to support the defense and reconstruction of Ukraine - after the war.
Experts say that the declaration, as a signed document, represents a stronger and more formal guarantee to Ukraine.
On Tuesday (January 6th), German Chancellor Friedrich Mertz announced that Germany could also play a military role and deploy "forces on NATO territory bordering Ukraine" after a ceasefire is reached.
For the first time, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez expressed his readiness to send troops as part of the peacekeeping mission in Ukraine. Sanchez did not elaborate.
Jakob Funk Kirkegaard, a fellow at the Bruegel think tank in Brussels, believes that the force is deliberately called "multinational" in order to open up space for other countries from or outside Europe to join.
"Who could it be? I think maybe Australia, or certainly Turkey, which is a big player in the Black Sea," he told DW.
The meeting in Paris was held within the framework of the so-called coalition of the willing – which consists of about 30 countries committed to Ukraine. The United States is not among them.
In a statement, the group said it would help build "defensive fortifications" inside Ukraine.
Kirkegaard said it was unclear exactly what kind of fortifications these would be. Perhaps, he speculated, similar to those being built in NATO members near Russia. “Like in Finland,” he said, it could at least include “laying mines and barbed wire.”
The statement from the coalition leaders also stated that they will participate in the proposed US-led ceasefire monitoring mechanism. That would require equipment and people to monitor sensors, drone and satellite imagery.
It added that the Ukrainians "will remain the first line of defense and deterrence," while experts told DW that the European troops would be present mainly as instructors, not in a combat role.
Many questions
Some in Europe are now stepping on the gas to establish a long-term security architecture for Ukraine. But there are still more questions than answers.
French President Emmanuel Macron said France could deploy "several thousand" troops on Ukrainian territory.
But, Kierkegaard added, it could be difficult for him to get approval from the French parliament to fund troops abroad, especially amid the country's political and economic crisis.
Starmer's signing of the declaration has sparked outrage among opposition leaders and experts who argue that Britain does not have enough troops to send anywhere.
The UK's Strategic Defense Review - an official document from last year - notes that the size and readiness of the military has declined since the end of the Cold War.
The report says that "only a small fraction of the troops" are ready to deploy at any time. The fall in the number of soldiers coincides with reduced defense spending.
Speaking to parliament, Starmer said that the number of troops to be sent to Ukraine "will be determined in accordance with our military plans, which we are developing and in which we expect the support of other member states."
In Germany, Chancellor Merz's proposal to deploy troops to NATO countries bordering Ukraine will also first have to be approved by parliament.
Several other members of the coalition remain completely mysterious. It is possible, it is thought, that they will not present more concrete plans until peace is once established in Ukraine.
"Would all partners from the coalition of the willing react strongly if Russia attacks again? That's a tough question. I'm asking them all, and I still haven't gotten a clear answer," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters on Wednesday (January 7th).
Until the security guarantees are approved in the parliaments and the US Congress, "we cannot answer the question of whether our partners are ready to protect us," he added.
Lack of American support is the biggest obstacle
The biggest obstacle to the European presence in post-war Ukraine comes from its once closest ally across the Atlantic.
Trump's envoys who attended the meeting in Paris did not dispel European dilemmas about whether the US would come to the aid of their troops if Russia violated the terms of peace.
Markus Reissner, an Austrian military historian and lecturer at the Theresian Military Academy in Vienna, told DW that the essential message of the Paris Declaration was to call on the US to support this European military venture.
"It is currently unthinkable for European forces to establish a large presence in Ukraine without the support of the United States and its specialized military capabilities, and without the guarantee that America will intervene militarily in the event of a Russian attack."
"This is especially true as long as Russia considers Western soldiers in Ukraine to be military targets," warns Reisner.
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