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France upbeat on Ukraine ceasefire talks in Paris

Talks on the introduction of a ceasefire in Ukraine, hosted in Paris by President Emmanuel Macron and which brought together senior US, European and Ukrainian negotiators, were described as 'excellent' by a French official, ahead of a meeting of all the parties again in London next week. 

La rédaction de Mediapart

This article is freely available.

Senior US, European and Ukrainian diplomats will meet again in London next week, the Élysée Palace has said, after what a French official described as an “excellent” day of talks in Paris aimed at reviving stalled ceasefire efforts, reports The Guardian.

“We have started a positive process in which Europeans are a part,” the spokesperson said after the meetings attended by top British, French, German and Ukrainian officials as well as the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff.

The French official said: “The Americans are ready to discuss security guarantees, but the exact content of those guarantees will depend on negotiations allowing Ukraine to achieve a solid and durable peace starting with a complete ceasefire as soon as possible.”

France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, hosted the talks as Washington and Europe seek common ground on how to end the fighting three years after Russia invaded its neighbour, with Trump’s pledge to swiftly end the war so far unfulfilled.

“Everyone wants to get peace. A robust and sustainable peace. The question is about phasing,” Macron said as the talks got under way. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s envoy to Ukraine, who also attended, said afterwards the talks were “very productive” but gave no details.

A previously unannounced team of Ukrainian officials including Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, and the country’s foreign and defence ministers flew in to meet the US and European delegations.

Yermak said: “We exchanged views on the next steps … including the implementation of a full ceasefire, the involvement of a multinational military contingent and development of an effective security architecture for Ukraine.”

In Kyiv, Zelenskyy was critical of Witkoff’s message, saying he believed the US envoy had “taken on the strategy of the Russian side”. He added: “I think it is very dangerous, because he is – consciously or unconsciously, I don’t know – spreading Russian narratives.”

Read more of this report from The Guardian.