Belgian prime minister Bart De Wever has been invited to the summit on Ukraine organised by French prime minister Emmanuel Macron on Thursday 27 March. De Wever’s spokesman confirmed this on Sunday, following a report in De Standaard.
Macron will gather Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and his European allies in Paris on Thursday. The aim is to form a ‘coalition of the willing’ to support and defend Ukraine, filling the void left by the United States.
The Paris summit is the third of its kind, following a first edition in London and a second in the French capital earlier this month. Belgium was not invited to the first two, but Bart De Wever’s cabinet says he has now received an invitation to Thursday’s summit.
In Paris, De Wever will help define different levels of support for Ukraine after a peace deal. According to Macron, this will include “support for the Ukrainian army and possibly a deployment” of troops.
Hostile US
This support will most likely happen without the United States. President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed hostility towards Ukraine. His administration has set up bilateral talks between the US and Russia on a possible end to the war, without involving Ukraine or the EU.
The US is also holding bilateral talks with Ukraine. This led to Ukraine accepting a ceasefire earlier this month. The two countries met again on Sunday evening. These talks would be “technical” and focus on protecting “energy and critical infrastructure”, Ukrainian Defence minister Rustem Umerov said ahead of the meeting.
