European leaders gathered in Paris with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday began a video conference with their US counterpart, Donald Trump, urging him to increase pressure on Russia, the French presidency said.
The talks began shortly after 2:00 PM (12:00 GMT) at the end of a meeting of leaders of the"Coalition of the Willing," which brings together some 30 countries allied with kyiv to finalize security guarantees for Ukraine.
Zelensky also held talks at noon with US Presidential Special Envoy Steve Witkoff on the sidelines of the meeting in Paris.
The meeting, co-chaired by the leaders of France and the United Kingdom, aimed to establish concrete commitments for military assistance and security in the event of a ceasefire, as well as to specify the level of US participation.
“We Europeans are ready to offer security guarantees to Ukraine and the Ukrainians the day a peace agreement is signed,” said French President Emmanuel Macron.
He added that the details of the guarantees are"extremely confidential" but that preparations have already been completed in previous meetings of defense ministers.
For his part, Trump told CBS News that he remains committed to seeking a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, despite growing uncertainty about the possibility of a direct meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodimir Zelensky.
Trump described his stance as realistic and optimistic, and said he is closely watching how both leaders handle the current situation. “I’ve been watching, I’ve been watching, and I’ve been talking to President Putin and President Zelensky. Something’s going to happen, but they’re not ready yet. But something’s going to happen, we’re going to get it done,” he said in a telephone interview.
The comments came as Russia continues to carry out attacks on Ukrainian territory. Late last month, a massive drone and missile attack on kyiv killed at least 15 people, including four children, according to local authorities.
Trump expressed his displeasure with the violence, though he insisted he will maintain pressure for a deal."I think we're going to get it all sorted out," he said. He added,"Frankly, I thought the Russia one would have been one of the easier ones I've stopped, but it looks to be a little bit harder than some of the others."
