US officials met Ukrainian, European officials for Ukraine peace talks

Of course the people in Sumi in the north of Ukraine still very much in shock as many people came to the scene of where those missiles had laid flowers and paid their respects to those who were killed and wounded in that attack on Palm Sunday. The Ukrainians are saying they believe that there are two reasons why there were so many victims in this attack. On the one hand, they say it happened during Palm Sunday as people were gathering to either go to church or. were coming from church, obviously *** big holiday there in Ukraine, but they also say that it was the munitions that were used that also led to the carnage being as bad as it was. The Ukrainian presidency saying that initially *** missile hit *** university building, but then *** second missile also struck the city, and they say that missile had *** warhead with cluster munitions inside, which obviously is *** weapon that targets people on the. Ground and can lead to many people being killed and wounded. The Ukrainians are saying that dozens of people are still being treated after that attack took place. Now the Ukrainian president Vladimir Zelensky is absolutely irate, not only, of course, blaming Russia for the attack but also claiming that Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, is dragging his feet on trying to get *** ceasefire going between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. The Kremlin has now also spoken on this topic as well. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov came out and once again reiterated that the Russian military only strikes what the Russians call military or near military targets. Of course all of this has led to major condemnation among Western nations. The US, though, remains careful on all of this. President Trump saying he believes it was what he calls *** mistake, Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.

France hosted high-level talks Thursday to discuss Ukraine and its security, the first time since President Donald Trump's inauguration that top American, Ukrainian and European officials are known to have met together to discuss an end to the war.U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and presidential envoy Steve Witkoff joined other top Ukrainian and European officials for hours of separate meetings at the French presidential palace before French President Emmanuel Macron brought them all together for a final round of talks at the end of the day.Macron described the talks as an important “convergence." France announced that talks in the same format would continue in London next week.The meetings came as concerns grow about Trump’s readiness to draw closer to Russia and after weeks of U.S. efforts to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine failed to bring an end to the fighting. There is also frustration among Europeans over the Trump administration’s other moves, from tariffs on some of its closest partners to rhetoric about NATO and Greenland.Video below: Trump on Russia-Ukraine war: 'I'm not happy with all the bombing that's going on'The American view in ParisRubio wrote on X that the American delegation in Paris was looking to “secure real, practical solutions to end the Russia-Ukraine war."Rubio also spoke by phone Thursday with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, conveying the same message he gave the delegations in Paris, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement.“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,” the statement says. “The encouraging reception in Paris to the U.S. framework shows that peace is possible if all parties commit to reaching an agreement.”Until now, Trump’s officials have pursued separate negotiating tracks between the United States and Ukraine, and between the U.S. and Russia.Senior U.S. officials had previously made comments suggesting European representatives would not be involved in ceasefire negotiations. Experts said the talks are thought to be the first time Witkoff — Trump's chief envoy tasked with negotiating with Russian President Vladimir Putin — has met senior Ukrainian officials.Alina Polyakova, president of the Center for European Policy Analysis in Washington, called this "really, really important. And I think that is emerging because I think the U.S. process has stalled and ... they realized that you need European input because they have skin in the game.''“This is not just about a swath of territory in Ukraine,” she said. "This is about broader questions of European security and you can’t disentangle those.″Ukraine's goalsUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he wanted his representatives to raise the question of security guarantees for Ukraine, and said he gave his team a mandate to discuss a full and partial ceasefire — but not matters relating to the territorial integrity of Ukraine.A senior French official said after Thursday’s talks that U.S. officials were ’’ready to discuss security guarantees,″ without elaborating. The official spoke anonymously as he was not authorized to be publicly named, according to presidential policy.Ukraine's presidential adviser, Andrii Yermak, said the Ukrainian delegation and European partners discussed the next steps toward achieving a “just and lasting peace,” including a full ceasefire, the deployment of a multinational military contingent, and the development of an effective security architecture for Ukraine.“It was a very substantive conversation. We continue our work,” he wrote.Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, also joined the talks. Other participants included Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, the German government’s foreign policy adviser and German Foreign Ministry’s political director.

PARIS —

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and presidential envoy Steve Witkoff joined other top Ukrainian and European officials for hours of separate meetings at the French presidential palace before French President Emmanuel Macron brought them all together for a final round of talks at the end of the day.

Macron described the talks as an important “convergence." France announced that talks in the same format would continue in London next week.

The meetings came as concerns grow about Trump’s readiness to draw closer to Russia and after weeks of U.S. efforts to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine failed to bring an end to the fighting. There is also frustration among Europeans over the Trump administration’s other moves, from tariffs on some of its closest partners to rhetoric about NATO and Greenland.

Video below: Trump on Russia-Ukraine war: 'I'm not happy with all the bombing that's going on'

The American view in Paris

Rubio wrote on X that the American delegation in Paris was looking to “secure real, practical solutions to end the Russia-Ukraine war."

Rubio also spoke by phone Thursday with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, conveying the same message he gave the delegations in Paris, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement.

“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,” the statement says. “The encouraging reception in Paris to the U.S. framework shows that peace is possible if all parties commit to reaching an agreement.”

Until now, Trump’s officials have pursued separate negotiating tracks between the United States and Ukraine, and between the U.S. and Russia.

Senior U.S. officials had previously made comments suggesting European representatives would not be involved in ceasefire negotiations. Experts said the talks are thought to be the first time Witkoff — Trump's chief envoy tasked with negotiating with Russian President Vladimir Putin — has met senior Ukrainian officials.

Alina Polyakova, president of the Center for European Policy Analysis in Washington, called this "really, really important. And I think that is emerging because I think the U.S. process has stalled and ... they realized that you need European input because they have skin in the game.''

“This is not just about a swath of territory in Ukraine,” she said. "This is about broader questions of European security and you can’t disentangle those.″

Ukraine's goals

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he wanted his representatives to raise the question of security guarantees for Ukraine, and said he gave his team a mandate to discuss a full and partial ceasefire — but not matters relating to the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

A senior French official said after Thursday’s talks that U.S. officials were ’’ready to discuss security guarantees,″ without elaborating. The official spoke anonymously as he was not authorized to be publicly named, according to presidential policy.

Ukraine's presidential adviser, Andrii Yermak, said the Ukrainian delegation and European partners discussed the next steps toward achieving a “just and lasting peace,” including a full ceasefire, the deployment of a multinational military contingent, and the development of an effective security architecture for Ukraine.

“It was a very substantive conversation. We continue our work,” he wrote.

Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, also joined the talks. Other participants included Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, the German government’s foreign policy adviser and German Foreign Ministry’s political director.

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