Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy today arrived at the Elysee presidential palace in Paris to hold talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, seeks to shore up European support for a deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
In a social media post welcoming his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky French President Emmanuel Macron wrote the work for peace continues.
Zelensky’s visit to France comes a day after talks between US and Ukrainian delegations in Florida. The Ukrainian leader has been a regular visitor to Paris since Russia Ukraine conflict started in February 2022.
In his comments, Ukraine’s Zelenskyy says that Ukraine’s priorities remain focused on security guarantees, maintaining sovereignty and territory, as he insists that Russia must not get rewards for its aggression on Ukraine.
He also plays down the Kremlin’s claims of Russian advances, saying they are exaggerated.
He says he hopes to have talks with US president Donald Trump to discuss next steps once Steve Witkoff is back from his talks in Russia this week.
“Ukraine is the only one that can discuss about its territories” as a sovereign nation, Macron said during a joint news conference with Zelenskyy.
Macron also denounced Russia’s continued onslaught against Ukraine:
“At a time when we are talking about peace, Russia continues to kill and destroy,” Macron said.
Ahead of his meeting with Zelenskyy on Monday, Macron’s office said the two leaders would discuss conditions for a “fair and lasting peace.” Later, Macron’s office said he and Zelenskyy held talks with other European partners including leaders from Britain, Germany, Poland, Italy, Norway, Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands.
Also included in the talks were European Union officials Antonio Costa and Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. Macron and Zelenskyy also had phone calls with US special envoy Steve Witkoff, Macron’s office said.
US President Donald Trump has downplayed his administration’s original 28-point peace framework, which would have imposed limits on the size of Ukraine’s military, blocked the country from joining NATO and required Ukraine to give up territory, as a “concept” to be “fine-tuned.”
Last week, Macron — a key ally for Ukraine who has firmly backed Kyiv and sought to counterbalance elements of the US peace plan that are seen to favor Russia — urged Western allies to bring “rock-solid” guarantees to Ukraine in case a ceasefire or a peace deal was to be reached. He has endorsed deploying a “reassurance force” on land, at sea and in the air to help ensure the country’s security.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin would meet with US presidential envoy Witkoff on Tuesday afternoon. Witkoff’s role in the peace efforts came under scrutiny last week following a report that he coached Putin’s foreign affairs adviser on how Russia’s leader should pitch to Trump on the Ukraine peace plan.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Monday expressed concern that the US-Russia talks might end up with Ukraine having to make yet more concessions, like being pressured to surrender its territory.
“I’m afraid that all the pressure will be put on the victim, which is that Ukraine has to make concessions and obligations,” Kallas told reporters in Brussels after chairing a meeting of EU foreign and defense ministers.
“It’s the United Nations charter that says that you can’t change borders by force. If this pays off, we will see this elsewhere all around the world,” she warned. “Whoever has the power gets to take what they want.”
Peskov on Monday condemned Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure over the weekend, including an attack on an oil terminal owned by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, CPC, and another that targeted two tankers in Turkish waters.
A major oil terminal near the port of Novorossiysk halted operations Saturday after a strike by unmanned boats damaged one of its three mooring points, according to a statement from CPC, which owns the terminal. This came a day after Ukrainian naval drones struck two oil tankers in the Black Sea that were reported to be part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” that evade sanctions.
Ukraine confirmed on Saturday it carried out the attacks. Peskov described both incidents as “outrageous.”
“Such attacks by Ukrainian drones on critical infrastructure facilities are an ongoing practice,” Peskov said, discussing the CPC terminal strike. “It’s outrageous, because we’re talking about an international facility.”
Meanwhile, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Russian forces had destroyed 32 Ukrainian drones overnight. The drones were shot down over 11 Russian regions, as well as the Sea of Azov, the ministry said.