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Ukraine's Future Subject of Paris Talks04/17 06:06
Paris is hosting a series of talks Thursday about Ukraine and its security,
including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and presidential envoy Steve
Witkoff, French President Emmanuel Macron and top Ukrainian officials.
PARIS (AP) -- Paris is hosting a series of talks Thursday about Ukraine and
its security, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and presidential
envoy Steve Witkoff, French President Emmanuel Macron and top Ukrainian
officials.
Rubio arrived in Paris on Thursday morning. Rubio and Witkoff will have
"talks with European counterparts to advance President Trump's goal to end the
Russia-Ukraine war and stop the bloodshed," State Department spokeswoman Tammy
Bruce said.
The meetings come as concerns grow about Trump's readiness to draw closer to
Russia as he seeks to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine and his administration's
other moves, from tariffs on some of its closest partners to rhetoric about
NATO and Greenland.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Andrii Yermak, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha
and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov also arrived in Paris on Thursday to take
part in the talks.
Yermak described them as "a series of bilateral and multilateral meetings
with representatives of the states of the coalition of the willing that are
able to guarantee security." The Ukrainian delegation is also to meet with U.S.
officials, Yermak said.
Around 30 countries led by Britain and France have been discussing a
possible coalition to police any future peace agreement with Russia. The
success of the coalition's operation hinges on U.S. backup with airpower or
other military assistance, but the Trump administration has made no public
commitment to provide support.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy is also taking part in the Ukraine
discussions, along with the German government's foreign policy adviser and the
Foreign Ministry's political director.
Macron will hold separate meetings with Rubio and Witkoff. Macron also plans
to discuss the impact of Trump's tariff policies and the conflicts in the
Mideast, "in a logic of de-escalation in the region," Macron's office said.
In Ukraine, a massive drone attack hit the city of Dnipro on Wednesday
night, killing three people including a child, the regional leader said.
Ukrainian government officials and military analysts have said that Russian
forces are preparing to launch a fresh military offensive in the coming weeks
to maximize pressure on Kyiv and strengthen the Kremlin's negotiating position
in ceasefire talks.
Rubio and Witkoff have helped lead U.S. efforts to seek peace more than
three years after Russia launched the war. Several rounds of negotiations have
been held in Saudi Arabia, and Witkoff met last week with Russian President
Vladimir Putin.
Moscow has effectively refused to accept a comprehensive ceasefire that
Trump has pushed and Ukraine has endorsed. Russia has made it conditional on a
halt in Ukraine's mobilization efforts and Western arms supplies, which are
demands rejected by Ukraine.
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