American and European diplomats gathered on Thursday in Paris to discuss a possible ceasefire agreement between Ukraine and Russia. The meetings will include US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff, as well as France President Emmanuel Macron, and Ukrainian authorities.
According to a statement from the US State Department, Rubio and Witkoff will have conversations to promote President Trump’s goal of ending the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Meetings take place at a time when Trump’s ready-made concerns are growing to approach Russia, seeking to intermediate a ceasefire in Ukraine, and other measures from his government, from tariffs about some of his closest partners to Rhetoric over NATO and Greenland.
Ukrainian presidential advisor Andrei Yermak, Foreign Minister Andrei Sybiha, and Defense Minister Rustem Umarov also arrived in Paris on Thursday to participate in the conversations.
Yermak described the meetings as “a series of bilateral and multilateral meetings with representatives of the states of the arrays that are capable of ensuring security.” The Ukrainian delegation will also meet with US authorities, said Yermak.
Coalition
About 30 countries, led by the United Kingdom and France, have been discussing a possible coalition to police any future peace agreement with Russia. The success of the coalition operation depends on US support with air power and military assistance, but the Trump government has not publicly committed to providing any help.
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British Foreign Secretary David Lammy also participates in discussions about Ukraine, along with the German government’s foreign policy advisor and the political director of the Foreign Ministry.
Macron will have separate meetings with Rubio and Witkoff. The French president also plans to discuss the impact of Trump’s tariff policies and conflicts in the Middle East, “in a logic of broken in the region,” said Macron’s office.
Russian offensive
Ukrainian government officials and military analysts have stated that Russian forces are preparing to launch a new military offensive in the coming weeks to maximize Kiev’s pressure and strengthen Kremlin’s negotiation position in a possible ceasefire.
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Several rounds of negotiations were held in Saudi Arabia between representatives of Washington and Moscow. Last week, Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Moscow effectively refused to accept a comprehensive ceasefire that Trump boosted and that Ukraine endorsed. Russia has conditioned it to the interruption of Ukraine mobilization efforts and the supply of Western weapons, requirements rejected by Ukraine.
According to the American newspaper The Washington PostRussia should announce the end of the energy ceasefire with Kiev.
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Although the limited ceasefire that began last month covered only the energy infrastructure, the measure was described by the Trump trading team as an important step towards a total truce. However, the break was criticized for its inaccuracy and the contradictions between Russia, Ukraine and the United States in key aspects-including the date on which it came into force and what was addressed.
Kremlin states that partial ceasefire-which refers as a temporary moratorium on attacks on energy infrastructure-began on March 18. But Ukraine says the break started a week later on March 25.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said the “moratorium” is about to expire and accused Ukraine not to fulfill it. He added that Russian President Vladimir Putin will make a decision in the coming days.
