NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, right, meets with Estonian President Alar Karis at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Sept. 2, 2025. Karis said his country was prepared to send troops to Ukraine as part of an international peacekeeping force in a post-war scenario. (NATO)
STUTTGART, Germany — Any western security guarantee for Ukraine must not come at the cost of weakening NATO’s own military readiness, the alliance’s top official said Wednesday ahead of high-level talks in Paris focused on what resources Europe could provide in the event of a peace deal.
“We have to prevent spreading our resources too thinly. And that means that you always have to look (at) what the impact will be on the NATO plans,” NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said during a joint news conference at his Brussels headquarters with Estonian President Alar Karis.
Karis said his country was prepared to send troops to Ukraine as part of an international peacekeeping force aimed at deterring Russian aggression in a post-war scenario.
While NATO is not directly involved in the planning, Rutte said he and the alliance’s top military commander, U.S. Air Force Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich, were “discreetly part of all the conversations.”
On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will co-host a meeting of the “coalition of the willing” comprised mostly of European allies. The discussions are expected to involve what potential security guarantees for Ukraine could look like and what type of peacekeeping force might be required.
The idea is to establish a setup that would prevent Russia from relaunching attacks on Ukrainian territory if a peace deal or cease-fire is established between the two countries.
President Donald Trump has signaled that the United States could play some kind of role in the effort, although he has ruled out putting American forces in Ukraine. Rutte on Wednesday also said the expectation was that the U.S would be involved in some form.
While Trump is not expected to join Thursday’s meeting, the session is expected to give NATO a clearer picture of what’s to come.
“I expect tomorrow, or soon after tomorrow, to have clarity on what collectively we can deliver,” Rutte said. “That means that we can engage even more intensely, also with the American side, to see what they want to deliver in terms of their participation in security guarantees.”
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said Sunday in an interview with Financial Times that there was a “clear road map” for troop deployments to Ukraine should the war come to an end.
Still, there has been little progress when it comes to making a peace deal that would bring a Western peacekeeping force to fruition.
Discussions about potential security guarantees in Ukraine also coincide with an ongoing force posture review at the Pentagon that could determine how many American troops are deployed in Europe. While the U.S. has not confirmed that it intends to make reductions, some allies are anticipating a significant drawdown.
Karis said he intends to discuss the situation with Grynkewich, who also leads U.S. European Command, during a meeting next week.
“I want to make sure that U.S. troops stay here in Europe, not only next to the border, but also in Germany, in Poland, and in other places,” Karis said. “And we discuss this with the secretary general as well to make sure to convince also Americans and give us also time to build up our own capabilities.”
