Anticipated Meeting in Paris for Ukraine Allies Following Progress in Peace Talks

SadaNews - Allies of Kyiv are scheduled to meet in early January to discuss the security guarantees that will be offered to Ukraine as part of a peace agreement with Russia, following U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement that "an agreement is imminent."

French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on platform X after a conversation with his American and Ukrainian counterparts, Volodymyr Zelensky, "We will gather countries of the willing coalition in Paris in early January to finalize each country's tangible contributions."

The coalition of the willing is an international formation that includes European countries and other supporters of Ukraine, which agreed to enhance military and security support to enforce sustainable peace and protect Ukraine, as well as to build security guarantees that could include the potential deployment of peacekeeping forces after a ceasefire agreement with Russia.

Macron, who also held a bilateral conversation with Zelensky, confirmed progress regarding the security guarantees that will be essential for building what he described as "just and lasting peace."

This announcement comes after Zelensky's meeting with Trump yesterday Sunday at the American president's residence in Florida, where the latter expressed optimism about reaching a near solution to the war that has been ongoing since February 2022.

Communications for Discussion

After the meeting of the American and Ukrainian presidents, Trump stated that reaching an agreement to end the war in Ukraine is close, but he did not report any breakthrough regarding the disputed territorial issues.

Trump, who vowed to end the conflict on the first day of his presidency about a year ago, remarked that it would become clear within weeks whether it is possible to end the war that he previously described as "harder than expected."

As was the case when Zelensky last met Trump in October, Russian President Vladimir Putin also spoke briefly by phone with the American president, who confirmed that Moscow is "serious" about peace.

After their discussions, Zelensky and Trump jointly spoke by phone with European leaders who expressed concern particularly about any decisions that might encourage Russia.

No Details

Despite Trump's declared optimism, he provided little detail about the progress he mentioned in the talks.

The U.S. president acknowledged the ongoing dispute between Kyiv and Moscow over the disputed territories. The current plan, revised after weeks of intense U.S.-Ukrainian negotiations, is to end the war along the current front lines in the eastern Donbas region and establish a demilitarized zone, while Russia demands territorial concessions.

In response to a question about the disputed Donbas region, he said, "The solution has not come, but it is getting closer and closer. It is a very thorny issue, but I believe it will be resolved."

It is worth noting that Russia demands full control over the Donbas region (Donetsk and Luhansk, where separatist entities declared republics in 2014, before Moscow recognized them and later announced their annexation in 2022). Its forces control most of Luhansk and 70% of Donetsk. The U.S. proposal calls for Ukrainian forces to withdraw from areas they control in Donbas, turning it into a demilitarized zone.

Source: AFP