Elusive US Guarantees Hamper Ukraine ‘Coalition of Willing’
Soldiers train in a forest during an exercise in Smardan, Romania, on Feb. 17.
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The “coalition of the willing” led by the UK and France to help secure a possible ceasefire in Ukraine risks stalling after it failed to obtain any firm commitments from the White House on security guarantees, people familiar with the matter said.
The ministers of defense of the group have gathered at NATO on Thursday amid debates between London and Paris on whether a so-called reassurance force composed of the voluntary participants requires a US “backstop,” said the people who spoke on condition of anonymity. Countries are also yet to reach a decision on what form the force should take and under what structure.