France signals new push for peace talks ahead of Zelenskyy–Macron meeting
Illustrative photo: Photo: Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron (president.gov.ua)
Peace talks in Ukraine cannot take place without European participation. And today's visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Paris is no coincidence, says French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, as quoted by Le Figaro.
“We have made every effort to ensure that everything is done in the interests of peace in Ukraine and security in Europe,” Barrot said.
He added that the 28-point plan recently presented by the United States had been significantly changed.
"On the one hand, we have achieved the exclusion of everything related to Europeans, and on the other hand, for the first time, we have received a clear statement from the United States expressing its intention to cooperate with us on the preparation of what are called security guarantees, that is, military elements that will prevent any further aggression from Ukraine after peace is achieved," the French minister emphasized.
He noted that while Russia seeks to limit the capabilities of the Ukrainian army, Europeans intend to support a strong post-war Ukrainian army.
“This will require... that we help it rebuild,” Barrot explained.
The minister also called the unification of 35 countries in the Coalition of the Willing, created “to ensure a joint response outside NATO to security issues” since the end of World War II, “unprecedented in European history.”
Zelenskyy's visit to Paris
Today, Monday, December 1, Zelenskyy is visiting Paris. At the Élysée Palace, he will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron.
After the meeting, the heads of both states will make statements.
US peace plan
Earlier, the United States presented a new peace plan to end the war in Ukraine, which contained 28 points, some of which were extremely beneficial to Russia.
In this regard, on November 23, a meeting of delegations from the US, Ukraine, and Europe was held in Geneva, where the document was revised to make it more acceptable to Kyiv. After that, the plan underwent changes and differed significantly from the original version.
Work on the document continues: on November 30, the US and Ukraine held new talks in Florida. In particular, issues of territory were actively discussed, and the topic of Ukraine's membership in NATO was also touched upon.
For more details on the results of the negotiations, read the article on RBC-Ukraine.
