Ukraine's path to eventual NATO membership is "irreversible," seven European foreign policy chiefs declared during a meeting in Berlin on Thursday, promising enhanced military and economic support.
The foreign ministers of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain, and the EU's foreign policy chief pledged to provide Ukraine with viable security guarantees should negotiations on a cease-fire take place after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
"We will continue to support Ukraine on its irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership," they said in a joint declaration after meeting their Ukrainian counterpart.
"Ukraine must prevail," they stressed in a so-called Berlin Declaration.
"We are committed to providing Ukraine with ironclad security guarantees, including reliable long-term provision of military and financial support."
Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock hosted the meeting as Ukraine's fight against Russia's invasion has raged for more than 1,000 days and into its third winter, with Kyiv's troops under heavy pressure.
The group came together to discuss steps to strengthen Ukraine in the event that Trump was to cut back military aid to Kyiv after taking office on Jan. 20 and push for a cease-fire with Russia, as he has indicated.
The top diplomats vowed to "remain steadfast in our solidarity" and "continue to support Ukraine in its right of self-defense against Russian aggression."
Trump has said solving the Ukraine crisis would be his top priority, but there are fears in Kyiv that he could try to force big concessions on Ukraine in return for a cease-fire.
The European ministers meeting in Berlin stressed: "There can be no negotiations about peace in Ukraine without Ukrainians and without Europeans by their side."
They vowed to "stand united with our European and transatlantic partners to think and act big on European security."
The group also said they would "continue to support Ukraine on its path towards accession to the European Union."
Ahead of the meeting, Baerbock said: "Here in this circle, we are unanimous. Ukraine needs tough security guarantees."
The guarantees for Kyiv would send a "clear message," the foreign minister said. "We stand up for the security and future of our European continent."
EU's foreign affairs chief, Kaja Kallas, said more needs to be done to support Ukraine in its defense against Russia.
"We have to do more to strengthen Ukraine on the battlefield," she stated. "The stronger they are on the battlefield, the stronger they are behind negotiations.
"And, of course, it's up to Ukraine to say when they are ready to sit around any negotiation table," Kallas added.
Baerbock and Kallas did not answer questions about the participation of German or European soldiers in a possible peacekeeping mission in Ukraine.
Earlier in December, Baerbock refused to rule out the prospect, drawing criticism in Germany.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called for "strong sanctions" on Moscow.
"[Russian President Vladimir] Putin understands only force. That is why I am here," Sybiha said.
"And we do really hope that this established format will strengthen our joint efforts to achieve our strategic goal: just, comprehensive, long-lasting peace in Ukraine," he added.
The European Commission has meanwhile offered its support in the discussions about a peacekeeping mission to secure a possible future cease-fire in Ukraine.
The EU is prepared to coordinate efforts in this direction, said a spokesperson for Kallas in Brussels.
Representatives of several NATO states have been holding confidential talks for weeks on how a possible future cease-fire in Ukraine could be monitored, sources told Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).
French President Emmanuel Macron was also meeting Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw on Thursday to discuss European support for Ukraine under the new U.S. administration.
Following the talks, Macron called for close cooperation between Europe and the United States in efforts to end the war in Ukraine on terms acceptable to Kyiv.
"We must work very closely with the Americans and, of course, with Ukraine to find a way that takes into account the interests of Ukraine, its sovereignty, as well as the interests of the Europeans and their security," he said.
He called for "a peace negotiated by the Ukrainians and which offers them lasting security."
Macron also noted the importance of coordination between European countries in formulating security guarantees for Ukraine after a possible peace deal with Russia.
He did not explicitly address the possibility of stationing a peacekeeping force with foreign soldiers in Ukraine.
However, Tusk rejected media reports that Poland wanted to participate in a peacekeeping force after the war. "At the moment, we are not planning any such actions," he said.
Unconfirmed media reports had previously stated that the talks could include such considerations.
The Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita cited an expert from the French Institute of International Relations as saying that a mission could consist of five brigades with a total of around 40,000 soldiers, with Poland potentially taking command of one of them.
Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said on Tuesday: "The deployment of Polish soldiers in Ukraine is currently out of the question."
While the topic "appears in publications," there is no official confirmation of the intention to station European troops in Ukraine, he said.
Tusk made it clear that Warsaw provides military aid to its neighbor and also maintains the most important logistical hub for Western military aid to Kyiv.
In addition, he noted that his country is still investing considerable resources to protect the external border of the EU and NATO with Russia and its ally Belarus, with 10,000 Polish soldiers stationed at the border.
