French President Emmanuel Macron has cautioned against a hasty peace deal for Ukraine that lacks strong security guarantees, warning it could leave Europe back at square one.

“This peace must not be rushed and must be backed by solid guarantees; otherwise, we will be starting over again,” Mr Macron told broadcaster TF1/LCI in an interview that aired on Tuesday.

He said the first guarantee was a strong Ukrainian military, with tens of thousands of well-equipped soldiers, defence systems and higher standards.

The president said the second would be so-called reassurance forces from partners, including Britain, France, Germany and Turkey.

These would not operate on the front lines but provide air, sea and land deployments as a “strategic signal” that lasting peace in Ukraine is also a shared European goal.

Asked whether such forces would be obliged to fight in the event of renewed Russian aggression, Mr Macron said there would be a response.

“That is the objective of these security guarantees.”

Mr Macron spoke after he met U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as several other key European leaders, at the White House on Monday.

Messrs Trump and Zelensky expressed hope that the cordial talks would pave the way for a trilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Mr Trump also said the U.S. would help European allies provide security for Ukraine if a peace deal to end Russia’s war is signed. 

(dpa/NAN)