French president Emmanuel Macron has welcomed Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy to Paris and said peace talks “could be a turning point” for the future of Ukraine and security in Europe.
“Ukraine is the only one that can discuss its territories” as a sovereign nation, Mr Macron said during a joint news conference with Mr Zelenskiy.
Talks on the proposed plan are still in a “preliminary phase”, Mr Macron said during a joint news conference with Mr Zelenskiy, adding: “But I want to praise the peace efforts of the US.”
Mr Macron said the coming days will see “crucial discussions” between US officials and western partners aiming to clarify US participation in security guarantees for Ukraine after a potential ceasefire or peace deal.
The French president insisted the peace plan can “only be finalised with Europeans around the table”.
He also denounced Russia’s continued onslaught against Ukraine, saying: “At a time when we are talking about peace, Russia continues to kill and destroy.”
The discussions are part of a flurry of diplomatic activity aimed at brokering the terms for a potential ceasefire in the nearly four-year-old war in Ukraine.
Mr Zelenskiy’s visit followed a meeting between Ukrainian and US officials in Florida on Sunday, which secretary of state Marco Rubio described as productive.
The two sides have worked to make revisions to a proposed US-authored plan that was developed in negotiations between Washington and Moscow but criticised as too weighted towards Russian demands.
Ukraine’s European allies welcomed the US peace efforts but pushed back on key tenets of the plan.
Before his meeting with Mr Zelenskiy on Monday, Mr Macron’s office said the two leaders would discuss conditions for a “fair and lasting peace”.
Later, the French president’s office said he and Mr Zelenskiy held talks with other European partners including leaders from the UK, 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.
Mr Macron and Mr Zelenskiy also had phone calls with US special envoy Steve Witkoff, Mr 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”.
I’m afraid that all the pressure will be put on the victim, which is that Ukraine has to make concessions and obligations
Last week, Mr 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 favour Russia — urged western allies to bring “rock-solid” guarantees to Ukraine. He has endorsed deploying a “reassurance force” on land, at sea and in the air to help ensure the country’s security.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Monday that Russian president Vladimir Putin would meet Mr Witkoff on Tuesday afternoon. The US envoy’s role in the peace efforts came under scrutiny last week after a report said he coached Mr Putin’s foreign affairs adviser on how Russia’s leader should pitch to Mr 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 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,” she told reporters in Brussels after chairing a meeting of EU foreign and defence 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. Whoever has the power gets to take what they want.”
