Zelensky and Macron discuss firm security, reject ceasefire risks
The Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, announced that he had a phone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday evening. Their discussion centred on security guarantees and the quest for lasting peace in Ukraine.
"We share a common vision: security guarantees must be robust and reliable", Zelensky stated on platform X. "Any other decision without such guarantees—such as a fragile ceasefire—would only serve as another deception by Russia and a prelude to a new Russian war against Ukraine or other European nations", warned the Ukrainian president.
Meeting of European leaders in Paris
An informal meeting of European leaders was convened by President Macron on Monday in Paris.
Those in attendance included the heads of government of Poland, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, and Denmark. Also present were NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and European Council President Antonio Costa.
US and Russia talks in Riyadh
On Tuesday in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, a meeting will be held between the US and Russian delegations. This will be the first meeting of its kind since the start of the war in Ukraine. The talks will centre on rebuilding bilateral relations and preparing for possible peace negotiations regarding Ukraine.
The participants will include US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and Special Envoy for the Middle East Steven Witkoff.
The Russian delegation will be represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Presidential Foreign Policy Advisor Yuri Ushakov, and Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian National Wealth Fund.
Neither the Ukrainian authorities nor the European Union were invited to participate in this meeting. Despite earlier statements by Donald Trump, who suggested the meeting might mark the beginning of arrangements to end the war in Ukraine, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce stated that the US does not view this meeting as the start of negotiations nor "a step towards any negotiations."
