What was decided on the Paris summit

The allies of Ukraine, reunited in Paris on Thursday in the presence of the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelenski, excluded any lifting of sanctions against Russia and, instead, consolidating them to increase the pressure on Moscow to hire peace negotiations, AFP reports.

Ukraine’s allies « unanimously agreed » that the sanctions against Moscow should not be raised, said French president Emmanuel Macron, who initiated the summit.

« It does not make sense to end the sanctions until the peace is truly restored and, unfortunately, we are still far from this, » said the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, at the end of the summit, considering that it would be « a serious mistake » to do this now.

« On the contrary, what we discussed is the way we can increase the sanctions, » said British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who was near the Ukrainian president.

« We discussed the plans for the restoration of peace, the mobilization of the armed forces and the operational plans, either by air, terrestrial or maritime, » added the British official. We will support you fully as long as it is necessary, ”he gave insurance.

For his part, Volodimir Zelenski claimed that « Russia does not want any peace. » And stressed the efforts on security guarantees that Europeans could provide « in the following days and weeks. »

The summit, which lasted more than three hours at the Elysee Palace, was intended especially to discuss the security guarantees for Kiev, including a possible European military development as part of a future peace agreement with Russia, which is still very hypothetical.