PARIS, Feb 18, (V7N) – French President Emmanuel Macron has emphasized that any peace agreement in Ukraine must be backed by “strong and credible security guarantees” to ensure lasting stability. His remarks came after a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday.

“We seek a strong and lasting peace in Ukraine. To achieve this, Russia must end its aggression, and this must be accompanied by strong and credible security guarantees for the Ukrainians,” Macron stated on social media platform X.

He cautioned that without such assurances, a ceasefire could end up as ineffective as the Minsk agreements, which failed to prevent further conflict following attempts to settle tensions in eastern Ukraine in 2014 and 2015.

The discussion followed an emergency meeting in Paris, where Macron and other European leaders deliberated over the implications of U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent shift in Ukraine policy. European leaders are increasingly concerned that Trump might negotiate a peace deal with Russia without involving Ukraine or the European Union.

Zelensky, in his own statement on X, reaffirmed the alignment between Ukraine and France regarding the necessity of firm security commitments.

“We share a common vision: security guarantees must be robust and reliable,” Zelensky said. “Any other decision without such guarantees—such as a fragile ceasefire—would only serve as another deception by Russia and a prelude to a new Russian war against Ukraine or other European nations.”