Taoiseach Micheál Martin attends meeting of the Coalition of the Willing in support of Ukraine
- Published on: 4 September 2025
- Last updated on: 4 September 2025
Taoiseach Micheál Martin attended a meeting today (Thursday) of the Coalition of the Willing in support of Ukraine. The Taoiseach attended by VC.
The meeting was hosted by the President of France, Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine.
It took stock of work on security guarantees for Ukraine and considered further steps to support Ukraine and to bring Russia to the negotiating table.
Speaking after today’s meeting, the Taoiseach said:
“I was pleased to have the opportunity today to meet again with like-minded European and international partners at a critical time for Ukraine and for Europe. It is important that we continue to press for a ceasefire and for negotiations to bring a just and lasting end to Russia’s brutal war on Ukraine.
“Our discussions today focussed on making further progress on the security guarantees for Ukraine that will be needed to underpin any ceasefire or peace agreement.
“These guarantees will likely take a number of forms, from an ‘assurance force’ that some other countries are ready to join, to further training for the Ukrainian Defence Forces, who will remain the primary defenders of Ukrainian sovereignty.
“They may also include a role for peacekeepers in ensuring that a ceasefire or peace agreement is observed. As I outlined to President Zelenskyy when I spoke to him earlier this week, Ireland is open to participating in an appropriately-mandated mission of this kind, building on our long and distinguished record of peacekeeping with the United Nations.
“Ireland is also playing its part in building capacity in the Ukrainian Defence Forces, including through the EU’s military training mission and through accelerating the drawdown of the €100 million in bilateral non-lethal military assistance the Government agreed earlier this year.
“We will also continue to offer our strong support for advancing negotiations on Ukraine and Moldova’s future membership of the EU, which will be an important protection to both countries against future predatory behaviour by Russia.
“Leaders also reflected today on the importance of US engagement in the search for peace in Ukraine, and on the need to continue to ramp up pressure on Russia though coordinated sanctions.
“Following today’s meeting, and my conversation with President Zelenskyy, I look forward to discussing with Government colleagues how we can further intensify our political, humanitarian and non-lethal military support for Ukraine.
“Its people have shown the most remarkable resilience and strength in the face of Russia’s brutality and they deserve our support."