France Gears Up for Second European Security Meeting

France is set to host a second round of talks focused on Ukraine and European security, widening its invitations to include more European nations and NATO ally Canada. The hybrid meeting aims to explore potential security guarantees for Ukraine and strategies to increase defense spending.

France is gearing up to host a second meeting on Wednesday to discuss Ukraine and European security, extending its invitation to additional European countries and NATO ally Canada, diplomatic sources revealed on Tuesday.

According to two sources, the countries invited to the hybrid meeting, which will feature both in-person and video participation, include Norway, Canada, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Finland, Romania, Sweden, and Belgium. This move follows an emergency meeting orchestrated by French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, which involved Britain, Germany, Italy, the NATO alliance, and the EU executive.

The discussions aim to explore potential security assurances for Ukraine and assess strategies for Europe to expedite defense funding, as the U.S. accelerates diplomatic efforts to resolve the ongoing three-year conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Some EU officials expressed discontent that the previous meeting was limited to selected leaders rather than being an inclusive EU summit.

(With inputs from agencies.)