‘Coalition of the willing' talks failed, says EU chief

Yahoo

11-04-2025

The European Union's top diplomat said the latest 'coalition of the willing' meeting had failed to present clear plans on enforcing a post-war settlement in Ukraine.
Kaja Kallas was asked on Friday whether the gathering a day before in Brussels had cleared up any confusion over the stalled plans.
'No,' Mrs Kallas told reporters when asked whether Thursday's meeting had shed light on the strategy to police any peace settlement.
'The different member states have different opinions and the discussions are still ongoing.'
Her remarks were dismissed by John Healey, the Defence Secretary, who said the Franco-British led coalition's plans were 'real' and 'well-advanced'.
Brussels' foreign affairs chief said she was uncertain whether any European-led force in Ukraine should be used to uphold peace, monitor any ceasefire or be fighting on the ground.
On Thursday, Mr Healey and his French counterpart, Sébastien Lecornu, chaired a meeting of defence ministers and officials from the 30 nations taking part in the 'coalition of the willing'.
But doubt have been growing about the speed of talks, which have been partly hindered Vladimir Putin's refusal to accept a truce.
On Friday, Donald Trump's diplomatic envoy travelled to Russia for surprise talks with Putin in the Kremlin.
It was expected that Steve Witkoff would deliver messages about Donald Trump's frustrations that Moscow had not signed up to a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Credit: Kremlin.ru
After the talks, in the the latest sign of his growing frustration with the Russian leader, Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: 'Russia has to get moving. Too many people ere [sic] DYING, thousands a week, in a terrible and senseless war – a war that should have never happened, and wouldn't have happened, if I were President!!!'
The Axios news wire reported that Mr Witkoff would warn Putin to sign up to a truce proposal by the end of the month or face new financial sanctions.
Rustem Umerov, Ukraine's defence minister who was attending the talks in Brussels, said he only learnt of Mr Witkoff's trip today.
In the Belgian capital, Mr Healey announced that European allies had pledged £18 billion in military aid for Kyiv.
It was also the first time, in the 27 meetings the coalition has met since the start of the war, a US defence secretary did not attend, with Pete Hegseth dialling in from overseas because of 'diary issues'.
His decision not to travel to Nato HQ was seen as a symbol of Washington's decision to step back from its leading role supporting Ukraine's war efforts.
Mr Healey opened the meeting with an appeal for Kyiv's allies to come forward with fresh donations, as well as announcing a £450 million package from Britain, including hundreds of thousands of drones and cash to maintain over 3,000 vehicles.
'Today, at this Ukraine contact group, we step up our support for Ukraine in the fight. Our job as defence ministers is to get urgent military aid into the hands of Ukrainian war fighters,' he said on Friday.
'And to those nations not making fresh commitments today, I urge you to look again, to look hard at what more you can do,'
'All military aid now will help Ukraine in the fight today and help secure a durable peace tomorrow, because the Ukrainian armed forces must be their own strongest deterrent against further Russian attacks.'
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