Ukraine's European allies reiterated their viewpoint on Thursday that now is not an appropriate time to lift sanctions on Russia.
Leaders from the United Kingdom, France, and Germany affirmed after their "coalition of the willing" summit in Paris on Thursday that they will not lift sanctions on Russia — a seemingly coordinated response to the Trump administration's consideration to do just that.
“(There is) complete clarity that now is not the time for lifting of sanctions,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, adding, “Quite the contrary — what we discussed is how we can increase sanctions to support the U.S. initiative, to bring Russia to the table through further pressure from this group of countries."
Olaf Scholz, the outgoing German chancellor, said stopping Russian sanctions would be "a serious mistake," noting that it "makes no sense to end the sanctions until peace has actually been achieved."
Their remarks and the meeting of dozens of European leaders on Thursday come days after Moscow reneged on its apparent maritime ceasefire agreement with Ukraine.
After the White House announced the deal to "ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force, and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea," the Kremlin said it would only participate in the cessation of maritime hostilities if Western nations lift a list of sanctions imposed on Russian industry and banking.
While a European Union Commission spokesperson said an "unconditional withdrawal" of Russian forces from Ukraine would be their requirement to roll back sanctions, President Donald Trump said, "We're thinking about all of [the proposed conditions] right now."
The Ukrainians have accused the Kremlin of intentionally delaying the peace negotiations and wasting time to give the Russian military ample opportunity to inflict maximum damage. They said that Russia would try such tactics even from the outset of the U.S.'s efforts to start negotiations.
"During the leaders’ meeting in France on support for Ukraine, I emphasized that the war is still ongoing — and it’s only happening because of Russia, whose position is simple: keep the war going, keep attacking, and delay diplomacy," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday.
The Trump administration has restarted diplomatic conversations with Moscow regarding the U.S.'s interest in seeing an end to their war in Ukraine. However, the administration's efforts have had little impact on the frontlines, and attacks continue to occur.
European countries are considering whether to deploy peacekeeping troops to Ukraine once a ceasefire agreement is finalized to disincentivize Russia from restarting military operations in Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday those forces would have the right to "respond" to a Russian attack, but he didn't specify what that could include.
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“If there was again a generalized aggression against Ukrainian soil, these armies would, in fact, be under attack and then it’s our usual framework of engagement,” he said. “Our soldiers, when they are engaged and deployed, are there to react and respond to the decisions of the commander in chief and, if they are in a conflict situation, to respond to it.”
Macron noted that the peacekeeper troops would not be stationed on the frontlines.
He and Starmer have emerged as the leaders of the continent's effort to fill the void left by the United States in unconditionally supporting Ukraine. They have also led the continent's effort to reduce its dependence on U.S. military support by strengthening its own defense industrial base and increasing military spending.