Zelenskyy, European leaders push for US-backed security guarantees

Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders met in Paris on Thursday with the US envoy appointed by President Donald Trump to mediate peace talks, discussing security guarantees for the war-torn nation as allies seek to ensure long-term military support and continued American backing once the conflict ends.

Zelenskyy held a closed-door meeting with Steve Witkoff, according to presidential press secretary Serhii Nikiforov.

Witkoff was invited to participate in the so-called “coalition of the willing ” meeting to discuss aid for Ukraine, including sketching out plans for military support in the event of a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war to deter future Russian aggression.

French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who lead the group, have insisted that any European “reassurance” force in Ukraine needs the backing of the United States.

Starmer’s office said after the meeting that the British prime minister “emphasised that the group had an unbreakable pledge to Ukraine, with President-

Trump’s backing, and it was clear they now needed to go even further to apply pressure on (Russian president Vladimir) Putin to secure a cessation of hostilities.”agencies