Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk shake hands during a joint news briefing, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Lviv, Ukraine December 17, 2024. REUTERS/Roman Baluk
LVIV, Ukraine (Reuters) - The possible deployment of foreign peacekeeping troops in Ukraine could be raised at a meeting of European leaders in Brussels on Wednesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday.
The meeting to discuss support for Ukraine, almost three years after Russia's full-scale invasion, will gather the leaders of Germany, France, Poland and NATO, among others, according to sources.
The Ukrainian leader publicly floated the idea of foreign troops being deployed until Ukraine could join NATO during a meeting with a German politician on Dec. 9.
The possibility was first raised by French President Emmanuel Macron in February but no consensus was reached among European leaders on the matter.
Answering questions from reporters about it potentially being discussed in Brussels, Zelenskiy said that "everyone who will be there has the right to raise this or that issue".
"There could be questions not only about the (foreign) contingent, but also questions that Ukraine will raise," he told a joint press conference with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Lviv.
Zelenskiy said the urgent strengthening of Ukraine would be the main thing to discuss. He mentioned long-range defence capabilities, allied investment in Ukrainian weapons production and security guarantees among other topics.
The meeting comes at a crucial point as Ukraine urges its allies to bolster it both on the battlefield and diplomatically before any potential talks with Russia.
U.S President-elect Donald Trump, who returns to White House in January, has repeatedly called for a ceasefire and said Zelenskiy should be prepared to make a deal to end the war.
Tusk reiterated that Poland was not considering sending troops but said his country, one of Ukraine's staunchest supporters, would do everything in its power to make Kyiv's NATO membership a real possibility.
"We all need to focus on ensuring that any talks on a ceasefire are not conducted from a position of strength on the Russian side, meaning that the Ukraine can be sure of the full support of all countries involved in helping Ukraine," Tusk said.
(Reporting by Andriy Perun in Lviv, Yuliia Dysa in Gdansk, Barbara Erling and Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk in Warsaw; Editing by Alison Williams)
