An emergency meeting was hastily convened Monday in Paris to discuss Europe's security issue, especially the rapidly changing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The informal mini-summit, held on the eve of Russian-U.S. talks scheduled for Tuesday in Riyadh, brought together leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Commission, alongside representatives from European nations including France, Germany, Britain, Poland, Spain, Italy, Denmark and the Netherlands.
"Today in Paris we reaffirmed that Ukraine deserves peace through strength," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen posted on X after attending the meeting. "Europe carries its full share of the military assistance to Ukraine. At the same time, we need a surge in defense in Europe."
Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General, said that the continent is ready and willing to strengthen self-construction, offering security guarantees to Ukraine.
Regarding reports that some European countries may send ground troops to Ukraine as part of a "peacekeeping" mission, Scholz dismissed the discussions as "totally premature."
Only British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that he was prepared to consider committing British forces alongside others -- on the condition of a lasting peace agreement and a U.S. security guarantee.
The defense spending of NATO members in Europe was another heated topic. Previously, the U.S. said the NATO members should drastically increase their defense spending, making it 5 percent to each of their GDPs.
Chen Yu, deputy director of the Institute of Eurasian Studies with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, believed that under the current socio-economic circumstance, Europe lacks the ability to provide weapons and support to Ukraine on its own. For now, Europe's path to strategic autonomy is still cloaked in a shroud of the United States.
"First, in terms of European security, the core is still NATO. It is difficult for Europe to take charge of its own defense, while NATO is still centered and led by the United States. In this case, Europe would have to defer to the United States on many issues. Second, as of military equipment, plenty of Europe's military equipment and advanced weapons still rely on the U.S. Third, regarding the current core issue of European security, which is the Ukraine crisis, the large amount of U.S. aid is a very important variable in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. If the U.S. cuts off its aid to Ukraine in the future, it will be difficult for Europe alone to undertake the task of assisting Ukraine under the current social and economic situation," said Chen.
European leaders hold emergency meeting over Ukraine crisis in Paris
European leaders hold emergency meeting over Ukraine crisis in Paris
