PARIS, February 13. /TASS/. European countries should be present at the negotiating table on the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict as they want to have a say in ensuring its post-conflict security, French Minister of the Armed Forces Catherine Vautrin said.
"It is important for European countries to be involved because with the Coalition of the Willing we will be there to ensure that once hostilities cease, a ceasefire is declared, or better still, a peace agreement is reached, we will be there to guarantee conditions of security," she told the Euronews television channel.
At the same time, she lauded the United States’ efforts toward continuing dialogue with Russia and Ukraine on a potential settlement of the conflict.
Earlier, Fyodor Lukyanov, presidium chairman of the Russian Foreign and Defense Policy Council and director for research of the Valdai International discussion club, said in an interview with the French newspaper La Tribune Dimanche that neither of the parties to the talks on Ukraine see any reason for involving Europe in the settlement efforts.
Russia vehemently objects to any NATO presence in Ukraine. Russian presidential press secretary told a briefing on December 17, 2025 that Moscow’s stance against deploying Western contingents to Ukraine is unshakable and well-known. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on August 21, 2025 that "foreign military intervention in any part of Ukrainian territory" as part of security guarantees to that country would be unacceptably for Russia.