The defence ministers of Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Poland met in Paris on Wednesday, promising concrete steps to boost European defence and provide security guarantees for Ukraine as Washington pursues rapprochement with Moscow.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov was invited to attend an initial meeting to discuss aid for his country, after which a second meeting would focus on building up European defence capabilities.
"European nations are stepping up," said Britain's defence secretary, John Healey.
"By deepening our defence cooperation, boosting spending and enhancing our collective strength, we send a clear message: we will not waver in standing with Ukraine and defending our shared values."
France and Britain, Europe's two nuclear powers, have worked closely together over the past few weeks to rally European support for Ukraine amid U.S. unpredictability.
The meetings, held at the Val-de-Grâce former military hospital in Paris, were also due to be attended by European Union and NATO officials.
The meetings come a day after 34 army chiefs, from NATO countries as well as Japan and Australia, met in Paris for rare talks that excluded their U.S. counterparts.
They focused on backing Ukraine and providing security guarantees for a future peace deal, including providing potential European peacekeepers.
U.S. President Donald Trump's moves to build closer ties with Russia and seek to rapidly end the Ukraine war have upended years of western defence thinking, prompting European nations to pledge Ukraine support and talk of rapid rearmament.
After Tuesday's meeting, French President Macron said the time had come to "move from concept to plan" to define credible security guarantees to ensure a solid and lasting peace in Ukraine, according to an Elysee source.
A press conference was scheduled following Wednesday's meetings at 18:30 CET.
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The Louvre Museum in Paris on Tuesday unveiled renovated galleries showcasing 17th and 18th-century Italian and Spanish paintings and opened its new Gallery of the Five Continents.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy concluded his visit to the Élysée Palace in Paris on Monday, marking a new phase of diplomacy as Kyiv pushes for stronger European support for its terms in a settlement with Russia.
France’s highest court upheld former President Nicolas Sarkozy’s conviction for illegal campaign financing on Wednesday, marking another legal setback for the 70-year-old former leader.
French police arrested four further suspects on Tuesday as part of the investigation into the audacious Louvre jewel heist last month, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in a statement.
Scores of demonstrators gathered outside the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo Tuesday (9 December) to protest against the awarding of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.
Pressure is mounting between Venezuela and the United States as both nations emphasise military preparedness and strategic positioning.
Iran and Saudi Arabia reiterated their commitment to enhance ties following a joint meeting with China in Tehran on Tuesday to follow up on implementation of the 2023 Beijing Agreement which resulted in resumption of their diplomatic relations after eight years.
Tanzania's government warned on Monday that protests scheduled for Tuesday would be illegal and amounted to an attempted coup, as security forces were heavily deployed in major cities.
The world’s leading minds and voices will be honoured on Wednesday, 10 December, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death, as Nobel Prizes are presented in Stockholm and Oslo.
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Democracies must be prepared to fight for freedom in order to survive, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado said on Wednesday, in a speech delivered by her daughter during a ceremony Machado could not attend.
The possibility of restricting social media access for children is a hot topic in the European Union and the United Kingdom, after Australia implemented a world-first ban for those under 16. Lawmakers have labelled the ban a “real-world test” of how far governments can go to protect young people.
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