Ukraine Prez meets Witkoff, Kushner on peace talks; thanks US for backing
Paris: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday (local time) held a meeting with US delegation Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, with both sides discussing on a diplomatic approach towards ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The Ukrainian President thanked the United States for its readiness in providing a backstop in areas like security guarantees and reconstruction.
Sharing the details in a post on X, he said, "With the U.S. President's team - @SEPeaceMissions Steve Witkoff and @jaredkushner- we continued discussions on the diplomatic path to ending the war. I thank the United States for its readiness to provide a backstop in all areas: security guarantees, monitoring of the ceasefire, and reconstruction. On January 7 in Paris, our teams will continue work on security guarantees and a basic framework for ending the war. Representing Ukraine will be Head of the Office Kyrylo Budanov, NSDC Secretary Rustem Umerov, General Andrii Hnatov, First Deputy Head of the Office Sergiy Kyslytsya, and Advisor to the Office of the President Oleksandr Bevz. I thank President Trump and the United States for their support. Not a single day is wasted."
Earlier, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said in a post on X that the US delegation met with the Ukrainian delegation and the Coalition of the Willing to advance President Trump's peace plan on Ukraine.
He said that the US delegation included Jared Kushner, General Alex Grynkewich, Ambassador Charles Kushner, and White House advisor Josh Gruenbaum.
Witkoff said, "Today, the US delegation met in Paris with the constituents of the Coalition of the Willing as well as the Ukrainian delegation to advance President Trump's peace plan on Ukraine. The US delegation included Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, General Alex Grynkewich, Ambassador Charles Kushner, and White House advisor Josh Gruenbaum. We held several meetings with the Europeans, including President Macron, and the Ukrainians, including President Zelenskyy, and are encouraged by the collaborative approach and partnership between the parties. We have made significant progress on several critical workstreams, including our bilateral security guarantee framework and a prosperity plan. The Coalition also released a statement outlining its framework to a security guarantee. We agree with the Coalition that durable security guarantees and robust prosperity commitments are essential to a lasting peace in the Ukraine and we will continue to work together on this effort. We will be continuing our discussions with the Ukrainian delegation this evening and tomorrow, and we are hopeful to achieve additional positive momentum in the near future."
The members of the Coalition of the Willing, Ukraine, and the United States met in Paris, with the leaders stressing on their commitment towards "just and lasting peace in Ukraine". They welcomed the progress achieved between partners to achieve peace, the official statement by the European Commission said on Tuesday (local time).
French President Emmanuel Macron said that the meeting provided "unprecedented unity" between the Coalition of Willing, Ukraine and the US on security guarantees for peace in Ukraine.
The meeting noted that the members would commit to several politically and legally binding guarantees that will be activated once a ceasefire enters into force.
As per the statement by the European Commission, this would include the participation in a proposed US-led ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanism, the Coalition agreed to continue critical long term military assistance and armament to the Armed Forces of Ukraine which would include but not be limited to aspects like long term defence packages and support for financing the purchase of weapons, amongst others.
