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French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed senior American officials in Paris for the end of the war in Ukraine, while the kyiv allies in Europe seek to play a more important role in stalled efforts to end the conflict in the midst of tensions with Washington.
Speaking after welcoming the American Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the American envoy Steve Witkoff on Thursday, Macron said that the talks represented “a very important opportunity of convergence”.
“Everyone wants to get peace – a robust and sustainable peace. The question concerns phasing,” said the French chief.
The administration of the American president Donald Trump pushed to end the Russian-Ukraine war, with Trump himself holder bilateral discussions With its Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
But so far, Trump’s efforts have not borne fruit, and the American president has expressed his frustration in Moscow and kyiv.
Ukraine accepted a proposal from Trump last month for a cease-fire, but Russia rejected the idea. The sides have only agreed Attacks against energy targets And at sea, which both accuse of raping.
Meanwhile, the United States openings to Russia in recent weeks have raised concerns among some European leaders, who have urged Trump to ensure that Ukraine has a siege at the negotiation table in any negotiation.
Paris report Thursday, the Hachem Ahelbarra of Al Jazeera noted that the talks hosted by Macron marked a “strong indication that the Americans are trying to team up with Europeans” to try to reach a cease-fire agreement.
Ahelbarra said that there was “a lot of frustration and skepticism” among European leaders after the Trump administration said it had planned disengage from Europe And did not expect European countries to play an essential role in efforts to end the war.
“(Europe) would like to have a key role in the cease-fire talks because they say they are the ones who can guarantee that the voice of the Ukrainians can be heard,” he added.
Zelenskyy requests pressure on Russia
Macron spoke Thursday in Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, by phone before the talks with Rubio and Witkoff, said the office of the French president.
Before that, Macron’s foreign policy advisor Emmanuel Bonne, and his British and German counterparts met Andriy Yermak, the chief of staff of Zelenskyy, who said he had discussed the potential cease-fire and security guarantees.
“We have exchanged points of view on the next stages towards the realization of a fair and lasting peace, including the implementation of a complete ceasefire, the involvement of a multinational military contingent and the development of an effective security architecture for Ukraine,” said Yermak on social networks.
The wave of diplomacy comes as Russia continued to attack Ukraine, the Ukrainian authorities saying that drone strikes and bombing killed at least 12 people on Thursday.
A Russian attack This killed at least 35 people in the city in the northeast of Sumy on Sunday, also attracted a widespread conviction this week and renewed calls to end the war.
Zelenskyy had exhorted the meeting of leaders in Paris on Thursday to rely on Russia to accept a cease-fire. “Russia uses every day and every night to kill. We have to put pressure on the killers,” he said on Telegram.
Zelenskyy also accused Witkoff, the American envoy, of “spreading Russian stories” after suggesting a peace agreement with Russia articulated on the status of territories occupied by Ukraine.
“I believe that Mr. Witkoff adopted the strategy on the Russian side,” Zelenskyy told journalists. “I think it’s very dangerous, because it is consciously or unconsciously, I don’t know, spreading Russian stories.”
Witkoff said this week that Putin was open to “permanent peace” after having talks with the Russian president In Saint Petersburg, their third meeting since Trump returned to the White House in January.
In a statement after Thursday’s talks, the US State Department said Rubio spoke with the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov.
“The secretary transmitted to his Russian counterpart the same message as the American team communicated to the Ukrainian delegation and our European allies in Paris: President Trump and the United States want this war to end, and now presented to all parties the contours of a lasting and lasting peace,” he said.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the officials had spoken by telephone and said that Lavrov had stressed Moscow’s desire to continue dialogue with Washington “to reliably eliminate the causes of the Ukrainian crisis”.
