France hails ‘positive process’ as Europe, US discuss Ukraine ceasefire

AFP : France hailed talks on the Ukraine war between top US and European officials on Thursday during which US Secretary of State Marco Rubio again pressed a US peace plan.
President Emmanuel Macron’s office said the talks launched a “positive process” as Europe seeks to be included in efforts to end the three-year-old war.
The meetings included Macron, Rubio, US envoy Steve Witkoff, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, German officials and Ukrainian ministers.
They took place as US President Donald Trump’s push to end the war stumbles, with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin rebuffing a complete truce.
“Today in Paris, we launched a positive process in which the Europeans are involved,” the French presidency said.
A new meeting of envoys from the United States, France, Britain, Germany and Ukraine will take place next week in London, it added.
Rubio called Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to discuss the Paris meeting.
“President Trump and the United States want this war to end, and have now presented to all parties the outlines of a durable and lasting peace,” Rubio told his Russian counterpart, according to the US State Department.
“The encouraging reception in Paris to the US framework shows that peace is possible if all parties commit to reaching an agreement,” he added.
In a statement, Russia’s foreign ministry said Lavrov “reaffirmed Moscow’s readiness to continue collaborative efforts with American counterparts to comprehensively address the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis”.
Lavrov and Rubio agreed on the need to maintain “prompt communication channels”, in light of the London meeting next week, the statement said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has clashed with Trump, also praised the talks.
“It is important that we hear each other, refine and clarify our positions, and work for the sake of real security of Ukraine and all our Europe,” Zelensky said in a post on X.
– ‘Europeans at the table’ -Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov however dismissed the Paris meeting, saying earlier that Europeans seemed to have “a focus on continuing the war”.
France and Britain have sought a coordinated European response to defending Ukraine, during the conflict and in any ceasefire, after Trump shocked them by opening talks with Russia.
Macron said the Paris talks were “a very important occasion for convergence,” as everybody wanted “a robust and sustainable peace”.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told reporters the talks had been a breakthrough because the United States, Ukraine, and European ministers had “gathered around the same table” when Europe had previously feared it would be excluded from decision-making.
The United States “has understood that a just and sustainable peace … can only be achieved with the consent and contribution of Europeans,” he added later on LCI television.
Russia’s strikes, which have recently killed dozens of people including children in Ukrainian cities, have increased pressure for new diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.
Zelensky earlier accused Witkoff of “spreading Russian narratives” after the US envoy suggested a peace deal with Russia hinged on the status of Ukraine’s occupied territories.
“I believe that Mr Witkoff has taken on the strategy of the Russian side,” Zelensky told reporters.
“It is very dangerous, because he is consciously or unconsciously, I don’t know, spreading Russian narratives.”
Witkoff said this week that Putin was open to “permanent peace” after talks with the Kremlin chief in Saint Petersburg, their third meeting since Trump returned to the White House in January.