Published on 01/12/2025 – 13:38 UTC+1
Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Paris on Monday to meet with Emmanuel Macron, as part of a series of diplomatic meetings aimed at negotiating the conditions of a possible ceasefire in Ukraine.
The French president’s office said the two leaders would discuss terms of a “just and lasting peace” a Ukraine_._
The Ukrainian president’s visit to Paris follows a meeting between Ukrainian and American officials held Sunday in Florida, described by Secretary of State Marco Rubio as “productive”.
Both sides have been working to revise the 28-point plan proposed by the United States, developed through negotiations between Washington and Moscow. While welcoming the United States’ peace efforts, the EU strongly opposed certain conditions of this proposal, considered to be to the disadvantage of Kyiv.
U.S. President Donald Trump has since downplayed the peace framework, which included reducing Ukraine’s military, preventing Kyiv from joining NATO and requiring Ukraine to cede territory.
Last week, Emmanuel Macron worked to counterbalance elements of the US peace plan seen as favorable to Russia and urged Western allies to provide guarantees “solid as a rock” to Ukraine in the event that a ceasefire or peace agreement is reached. The French leader approved the deployment of a “reinsurance force” on land, at sea and in the air in Ukraine.
At the same time, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin would meet with Steve Witkoff on Tuesday afternoon.
The role of the American presidential envoy in peace efforts is closely scrutinized. Last week, the Bloomberg news outlet revealed that he had made recommendations to Vladimir Putin’s foreign affairs adviser on how the Russian leader should present the peace plan for Ukraine.
Both Moscow and Washington downplayed the significance of these revelations.
Additional sources • AP