Macron says 26 countries pledge troops as a reassurance force for Ukraine after war ends

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that 26 of Ukraine’s allies have pledged to deploy troops as a “reassurance force” for the war-torn country once fighting ends in the conflict with Russia.

Macron spoke after a meeting in Paris of the so-called “coalition of the willing," a group of 35 countries who support Ukraine. He said that 26 of the countries had committed to deploying troops in Ukraine — or to maintaining a presence on land, at sea, or in the air — to help guarantee the country’s security the day after a ceasefire or peace is achieved.

Earlier Thursday, Macron and other European leaders met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the U.S. envoy for peace talks, Steve Witkoff, to discuss ways of ensuring long-term military support and continued American backing for Ukraine once the conflict ends. Zelenskyy also held a closed-door meeting with Witkoff.

Macron said at a news conference alongside Zelenskyy that the reassurance force “does not have the will or the objective of waging war against Russia," but will aim "to prevent any new major aggression and to involve the 26 states very clearly in the lasting security of Ukraine.”

Though details of any U.S. participation in the security guarantees remain unclear, both Macron and Zelenskyy said Washington had expressed willingness to be part of the plan, and the Ukrainian president said he was grateful about that. “As for in what format, I am not yet ready to tell you in detail,” Zelenskyy added.

“The planning work will be finalized with the United States,” Macron said.

Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who lead the “coalition of the willing,” previously have insisted that any European “reassurance” force in Ukraine needs the backing of the United States.

The European leaders — some of whom joined the meeting virtually — said Russian President Vladimir Putin must now work toward ending the fighting, and the German government suggested European sanctions on Russia would increase if Moscow drags its feet. The European leaders also spoke by phone with U.S. President Donald Trump after their meeting.

Starmer’s office said the British prime minister “emphasized that the group had an unbreakable pledge to Ukraine, with President Trump’s backing, and it was clear they now needed to go even further to apply pressure on Putin to secure a cessation of hostilities.”

Finnish President Alexander Stubb told Finnish media that, in the phone conversation with European leaders, Trump emphasized the need to put economic pressure on Russia, and said Europe must stop buying Russian oil and gas that he said was funding the war.

Trump stressed that Russia received €1.1 billion in fuel sales from the EU in one year, according to a White House official. Trump also emphasized that European leaders must place economic pressure on China for indirectly funding Russia’s war efforts, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment publicly about the private talks and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

German government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz laid out three “areas of action,” including working toward a summit that would include Zelenskyy, and “a ceasefire must be agreed there.”

“If the Russian side continues to play for time, Europe will increase the pressure of sanctions to increase the chances of a diplomatic solution,” the statement said.

The Ukrainian president said a meeting with Putin is needed. “This is not a matter of a desire, this is a matter of necessity," Zelenskyy said. “We support any format, bilateral meeting, trilateral meeting, I believe that Russia does everything to defer it."

There was no immediate reaction from Russian officials.

Putin — isolated by Western leaders but backed by China in his war effort — said Wednesday that he believed “if common sense prevails, it is possible to agree on an acceptable option for ending the conflict,” adding that Trump has “a sincere desire” to reach a settlement.

In a policy shift earlier this month, the U.S. sent positive signals over its readiness to support security guarantees for Ukraine that resemble NATO’s collective defense mandate, Zelenskyy previously has said. It is unclear what that support would look like in practice. Ukraine is hoping for continued U.S. intelligence sharing and air support.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said that a broad coalition of nations is needed to support Ukraine’s defense against Russian aggression, but also to strengthen Europe to deter further military action by Moscow.

Citing European military and intelligence officials who have warned of Russian plans to strike other European countries, Rutte said that “we have to make sure that our deterrence is such that they will never try, knowing that our reaction will be devastating.”

Rutte also called for the world to “not be naive about Russia.”

“We know what Putin tries to do and and the evidence is there in Ukraine as we speak,” he said.

Meanwhile, in Ukraine, Russia fired 112 strike and decoy drones across the country overnight Thursday, according to Ukraine’s Air Force morning report. Air defenses intercepted or jammed 84 drones, the statement said.

Russia on Thursday announced that it was expelling an Estonian diplomat in a tit-for-tat move after Estonia declared a Russian diplomat persona non grata last month.

Petrequin reported from London. Associated Press reporters from across the globe contributed to this report.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron, arrive to attend a summit on Ukraine at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, France, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (Ludovic Marin/Pool Photo via AP)

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron, arrive to attend a summit on Ukraine at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, France, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (Ludovic Marin/Pool Photo via AP)

White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, center with back to camera, speaks with France's President Emmanuel Macron, second from right, flanked by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, during a summit on Ukraine at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, France, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (Ludovic Marin/ Pool Photo via AP)

White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, center left, shakes hand with France's President Emmanuel Macron during a summit on Ukraine at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, France, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (Ludovic Marin/Pool Photo via AP)

White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, left, shakes hand with France's President Emmanuel Macron during a summit on Ukraine at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, France, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (Ludovic Marin/Pool Photo via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado discussed her country's future with President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday, even though he has dismissed her credibility to take over after an audacious U.S. military raid captured then-President Nicolás Maduro.

Trump has raised doubts about his stated commitment to backing democratic rule in Venezuela and signaled his willingness to work with acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who was Maduro’s No. 2. Along with others in the deposed leader’s inner circle, Rodríguez remains in charge of day-to-day government operations and was set to deliver her first state of the union speech Thursday.

In endorsing Rodríguez so far, Trump has sidelined Machado, who has long been a face of resistance in Venezuela. She also had sought to cultivate relationships with Trump and key administration voices like Secretary of State Marco Rubio among the American right wing in a gamble to ally herself with the U.S. government.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump had been looking forward to the lunchtime meeting with Machado and called her “a remarkable and brave voice” for the people of Venezuela. But Leavitt also said Trump's opinion of Machado had not changed, calling it "a realistic assessment."

Trump has said it would be difficult for Machado to lead because she “doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.” Her party is widely believed to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro.

Leavitt went on to say that Trump supported new Venezuelan elections “when the time is right” but did not say when he thought that might be.

Leavitt said Machado sought the face-to-face meeting without setting expectations for what would occur. Machado previously offered to share with Trump the Nobel Peace Prize she won last year, an honor he has coveted.

“I don’t think he needs to hear anything from Ms. Machado," the press secretary said, other than to have a ”frank and positive discussion about what’s taking place in Venezuela.”

Machado spent about two and a half hours at the White House but left without answering questions on whether she'd offered to give her Nobel prize to Trump, saying only “gracias."

After her White House stop, Machado plans to have a meeting at the Senate. Her Washington visit began after U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says had ties to Venezuela.

It is part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil after U.S. forces seized Maduro and his wife at a heavily guarded compound in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas and brought them to New York to stand trial on drug trafficking charges.

Leavitt said Venezuela's interim authorities have been fully cooperating with the Trump administration and that Rodríguez's government said it planned to release more prisoners detained under Maduro. Among those released were five Americans this week.

Rodríguez has adopted a less strident position toward Trump then she did immediately after Maduro's ouster, suggesting that she can make the Republican administration's “America First” policies toward the Western Hemisphere, work for Venezuela — at least for now.

Trump said Wednesday that he had a “great conversation” with Rodríguez, their first since Maduro was ousted.

“We had a call, a long call. We discussed a lot of things,” Trump said during an Oval Office bill signing. “And I think we’re getting along very well with Venezuela.”

Even before indicating the willingness to work with Venezuela's interim government, Trump was quick to snub Machado. Just hours after Maduro's capture, Trump said of Machado that “it would be very tough for her to be the leader.”

Machado has steered a careful course to avoid offending Trump, notably after winning the peace prize. She has since thanked Trump, though her offer to share the honor with him was rejected by the Nobel Institute.

Machado’s whereabouts have been largely unknown since she went into hiding early last year after being briefly detained in Caracas. She briefly reappeared in Oslo, Norway, in December after her daughter received the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf.

The industrial engineer and daughter of a steel magnate began challenging the ruling party in 2004, when the nongovernmental organization she co-founded, Súmate, promoted a referendum to recall then-President Hugo Chávez. The initiative failed, and Machado and other Súmate executives were charged with conspiracy.

A year later, she drew the anger of Chávez and his allies again for traveling to Washington to meet President George W. Bush. A photo showing her shaking hands with Bush in the Oval Office lives in the collective memory. Chávez considered Bush an adversary.

Almost two decades later, she marshaled millions of Venezuelans to reject Chávez’s successor, Maduro, for another term in the 2024 election. But ruling party-loyal electoral authorities declared him the winner despite ample credible evidence to the contrary. Ensuing anti-government protests ended in a brutal crackdown by state security forces.

Garcia Cano reported from Caracas, Venezuela, and Janetsky from Mexico City. AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado gestures to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado waves to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado smiles on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado waves to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

FILE - U.S. President George Bush, right, meets with Maria Corina Machado, executive director of Sumate, a non-governmental organization that defends Venezuelan citizens' political rights, in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, May 31, 2005. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

FILE - Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gestures to supporters during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro the day before his inauguration for a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, file)