President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy took part in the Coalition of the Willing meeting, which was held in a video communication format. It was co-chaired by President of France Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Keir Starmer, and Federal Chancellor of Germany Friedrich Merz. In total, 40 participants joined the meeting, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
NATO Deputy Secretary General Radmila Šekerinska also joined the meeting from Kyiv alongside the Head of State.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked partners for standing with Ukraine and for their coordinated work on shared security.
“We firmly believe – security decisions about Ukraine must include Ukraine – that was our position in Geneva and always – security decisions about Europe must include Europe, and the same applies to Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, other countries, and every other nation. And this is simply fair – and it actually works,” the President emphasized.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that the meetings and talks held in Geneva delivered a good result. Ukraine now has the framework developed there by the teams and is ready to move forward together with the United States, with President Trump’s personal involvement, with Europe, with leaders, and with all partners who have the strength and capacity to help.
“And I am ready to meet with President Trump – there are sensitive points to discuss, we have them still, and we think that the presence of European leaders could be helpful,” the Head of State stressed.
At the same time, the President underscored that, against the backdrop of Russia’s war, which is still ongoing, Ukraine needs support for its defense and resilience. It is also essential to maintain sanctions against the Russian Federation, finally channel frozen Russian assets to bolster Ukraine’s protection, and develop a doable framework for the deployment of the Reassurance Force Ukraine of the Coalition of the Willing by signing a relevant Memorandum of Understanding.
“We have always supported America’s efforts to put an end to this war. And we are united in support for a just, dignified, and lasting peace for Ukraine that would preserve its sovereignty and ensure its long-term security,” the President of France stated.
Emmanuel Macron also noted that decisions affecting Europe’s and NATO’s interests require the joint backing of European partners and Allies. Moreover, according to him, a necessary condition for peace is reliable security guarantees, which is one of the core missions of the Coalition of the Willing.
Keir Starmer noted that during the Geneva talks, Ukraine proposed constructive adjustments to the U.S. proposals. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom added that it remains essential to uphold the principle that Ukraine must have the ability to defend itself in the future. Ukrainian sovereignty must be preserved, and all matters concerning Ukraine and its future must be determined by Ukraine.
He also called for additional pressure on Russia and continued work on reliable future security guarantees for our country, as well as strengthening Ukraine’s air defense now.
“The Multinational Force Ukraine will be a vital part of this. Our Military Planners, who have worked really hard in recent months, will continue to work on the readiness of that force. And we will also pick up next steps with the U.S. military on their own planning,” Keir Starmer said.
Friedrich Merz stressed that one of the key tasks now must be working to finally bring Russia to the negotiating table.
“We currently have a position aligned among Ukraine, the United States, and Europe, but Russia is not at the negotiating table. Therefore, we must do everything we can to put pressure on it,” the German Federal Chancellor noted.
The meeting was also attended by: President of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides, President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda, President of Romania Nicușor Dan, President of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Finland Alexander Stubb, Chancellor of Austria Christian Stocker, Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama, Prime Minister of Belgium Bart De Wever, Prime Minister of Bulgaria Rossen Jeliazkov, Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen, Prime Minister of Estonia Kristen Michal, Taoiseach of Ireland Micheál Martin, Prime Minister of Iceland Kristrún Frostadóttir, Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sánchez, President of the Council of Ministers of Italy Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Luxembourg Luc Frieden, Prime Minister of the Netherlands Dick Schoof, Prime Minister of New Zealand Christopher Luxon, Prime Minister of Norway Jonas Gahr Støre, Prime Minister of Portugal Luís Montenegro, Prime Minister of Slovenia Robert Golob, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Petr Fiala, Prime Minister of Montenegro Milojko Spajić, Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson, President of the European Council António Costa, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas, Deputy Prime Minister – Minister for Defense of Australia Richard Marles, Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland Radosław Sikorski, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece Giorgos Gerapetritis, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia Gordan Grlić-Radman, and the national security advisers of Latvia and Japan.