Cliff Notes
- A recent meeting in Paris involved Marco Rubio, Steve Witkoff, and senior European officials, where they discussed the non-negotiable aspects of a potential Ukraine peace deal.
- France’s foreign minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, emphasised the importance of European interests and security during discussions with US delegates, UK, and German counterparts.
- Barrot expressed skepticism regarding Donald Trump‘s claim of an imminent peace deal, suggesting that any progress hinges on Vladimir Putin’s actions.
Ukraine war latest: Putin proposes first peace talks with Ukraine since early days of conflict
We’re getting some details through about the meeting between Marco Rubio, Steve Witkoff and senior European officials in Paris last week.
According to France’s foreign minister, European officials told the US which aspects of a peace deal in Ukraine would be non-negotiable for them.
Jean-Noel Barrot held talks with the US delegations alongside counterparts from the UK and Germany.
We’re expecting a similar meeting in London tomorrow.
“The only objective that concerns us is to defend French interests and European security. It’s the reason that as the US decide to place itself in a mediator position that we make them hear what our ‘red lines’ are,” Barrot told Franceinfo this morning.
Asked whether he thought that Donald Trump’s assertion that a peace deal could be announced this week was credible, Barrot said it depended on Vladimir Putin.
“I think that the [Easter] truce which Putin decreed somewhat surprisingly was a marketing operation, a seduction operation aimed at avoiding that President Trump gets impatient,” Barrot said.