Ankara (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Turkey’s defence ministry said on Thursday that a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia must be achieved first before any discussions can take place on possible troop deployment for a potential reassurance force.
“First, a ceasefire must be established between Russia and Ukraine. Afterward, a mission framework must be established with a clear mandate, and the extent to which each country will contribute must be determined,”
the ministry said at a press briefing when questioned about Macron’s remarks.
Turkey, which has maintained cordial relations with both Russia and Ukraine during the war, has said it was open to examining such a deployment but only if its modalities were formed.
How would Macron’s reassurance force operate in post-war Ukraine?
On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the creation of a “reassurance force” for post-war Ukraine that would include soldiers from France, the United Kingdom, and Turkey, Euronews reported.
This force would be deployed as soon as a peace agreement with Russia was signed and would be stationed in rear areas like Kyiv or Odesa for security, training, and deterrence rather than front-line combat.
This expands on his March 2025 “Coalition of the Willing” proposal, which excludes NATO frameworks and emphasises an intergovernmental coalition with roughly 20 nations committed to air, land, or sea contributions, for European troops in key Ukrainian locations following a ceasefire.
How is Turkey positioning itself between Russia and Ukraine?
The first peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine were held in Istanbul on March 29–30, 2022. Turkey has been a key mediator between Russia and Ukraine. This occurred soon after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
These discussions were hosted and mediated by Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlò Çavuşoğlu and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. They were the first high-level, in-person talks between the two nations during the conflict.
During their third round of direct negotiations in Istanbul in July 2025, Russia and Ukraine decided to exchange prisoners. Ukraine and Moscow have not held any in-person negotiations since their July meeting in Istanbul.
The Istanbul agreements were primarily involved in prisoner exchanges and the return of fallen soldiers’ bodies in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine between May and July of 2025. These agreements were reached in previous discussions in 2022. They permitted the return of bodies and the exchange of prisoners of war (POWs). To complete and carry out these exchanges, Ukraine and Russia engaged in multiple rounds of negotiations.
