Poland’s Donald Tusk hits brake on Ukraine peacekeeping force

WARSAW — Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk shot down speculation that European countries were preparing to deploy thousands of troops to Ukraine as part of a potential cease-fire deal to end the war with Russia.

“I want to cut short speculation on the presence of troops from this or that country in Ukraine after a possible peace agreement or in the case of a cease-fire,” Tusk told reporters during a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron.

On Wednesday, Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita reported that the two countries were discussing sending a 40,000-strong peacekeeping force composed of troops from foreign countries.

Macron had traveled to Warsaw to discuss the idea with Tusk, a European diplomat and a French official said, though his quick visit is being cut even shorter as he prepares to name a new prime minister. The French president confirmed that talks with Tusk had focused on Ukraine and the “day after” the war, but he did not discuss the peacekeeping force and did not take questions from the press.

“The [incoming] Trump administration has shown its will to change the trajectory of the conflict, and we must work with Ukraine and Europe, to take into account European and Ukrainian interests,” he said.

Macron’s lightning visit to Poland comes less than a week after the French president hosted U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy for talks before the formal reopening of the Notre Dame cathedral. Trump has said that he wants “an immediate cease-fire” in Ukraine.

While the idea of a European peacekeeping force appears to be gaining traction in some circles, Tusk threw cold water on the idea. He hinted that Poland had not decided where it stands on the proposal.

“We discussed it, and decisions on any actions will be taken in Warsaw, only in Warsaw. And for the moment nothing like that is planned,” he said.