French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that Turkish troops, along with U.K. and French forces, may be part of what is planned to be called the “reassurance force” once peace is achieved in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
In an interview with France’s RTL Radio, Macron commented on the U.S. peace plan to resolve the conflict and said it still needed improvement. "It's an initiative that goes in the right direction: toward peace. However, there are aspects of that plan that deserve to be discussed, negotiated, improved," Macron said. "We want peace, but we don't want peace that is effectively a capitulation."
A few hours before a video call of the so-called coalition of the willing countries offering to assist postwar Ukraine, Macron also gave details on what a reassurance force might look like "far away from the front line" once fighting stops.
"There are British, French, Turkish soldiers who, the day peace is signed, so not in a context of war, are there to conduct training and security operations, as we do in certain countries on NATO's eastern flank," he said. "We have about 20 countries that have already said what they are prepared to do actively, either in the air, on land or at sea."
Turkish officials did not comment on Macron’s remarks yet, but back in March, Turkish Defense Ministry sources said Türkiye may consider sending troops if needed. Paris and London have already expressed a willingness to deploy troops to Ukraine to ensure that a possible future cease-fire is preserved, without saying what role those troops would play.
