French President Emmanuel Macron announced the creation of a "French-German Defense and Security Council."

The announcement came during a visit by Germany's new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, to Paris.

Europe is seeking to strengthen its defense amid Russia's war against Ukraine and doubts about the US's security commitments to Europe, AFP reported.

"We will create a Franco-German defense and security council that will meet regularly to provide operational responses to our common strategic challenges," Macron said at a joint press conference with Merz.

The French head of state expressed doubts that Russian leader Vladimir Putin would respect the three-day ceasefire in Ukraine and questioned whether he had "serious intentions" to achieve lasting peace.

"Beyond the promised three days, which will undoubtedly not be respected, as was the case previously, is the Russian president finally serious? Will he finally decide to keep his word, especially the promises he made in his talks with the US administration? This is important for us," Macron said.

Merz said the war in Ukraine cannot end without the involvement of the United States, warning that European countries are not in a position to replace Washington.

"We cannot end this war in Ukraine without the continued involvement of the United States, this is not something that Europeans can replace," he said.

The German chancellor stressed that any future ceasefire and security guarantees for Ukraine would also require US involvement.

Merz also noted that he wanted to discuss with France and the UK the nuclear "deterrence" of the European continent.

"We will give our ministers a mandate to start these discussions," he said.

The chancellor added that any such agreement would be "an addition to what we already have with our American partners within NATO." | BGNES