 "France’s Macron to host Zelenskyy in Paris for talks on achieving ‘just and lasting peace’")
French President Emmanuel Macron will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Paris on Monday for discussions, a French presidential official said, as the United States advances a proposal aimed at resolving the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
According to the official, the talks will focus on ““the conditions for a just and lasting peace”.” The announcement came as a high-level Ukrainian delegation travelled to Washington and Zelensky faced fresh political strain at home following his dismissal of his chief aide.
US President Donald Trump last week released a plan for ending the nearly four-year war. The 28-point proposal heavily favoured Russia, prompting Zelenskyy to quickly engage with American negotiators. European leaders, fearing for their own future in the face of Russian aggression, scrambled to steer the negotiations toward accommodating their concerns.
Trump said Tuesday that his plan to end the war had been “fine-tuned” and that he’s sending envoy Steve Witkoff to Russia to meet with Putin and U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to meet with Ukrainian officials. He suggested he could eventually meet with Putin and Zelenskyy, but not until further progress has been made in negotiations.
European leaders have long accused Russia of stalling diplomatic efforts in the hope of overwhelming Ukraine’s much smaller forces on the battlefield. Kyiv has repeatedly accepted U.S. ceasefire proposals this year, while Moscow has held out for more favourable terms.
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View AllMeanwhile, European leaders have long accused Russia of stalling diplomatic efforts in the hope of overwhelming Ukraine’s much smaller forces on the battlefield. Kyiv has repeatedly accepted US ceasefire proposals this year, while Moscow has held out for more favourable terms.
Ukraine used domestically produced Sea Baby naval drones to strike two Russian oil tankers in the Black Sea, an official from Ukraine’s security services told The Associated Press on Saturday.
The two oil tankers, Kairos and Virat — said to be part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” that evade sanctions — were struck in quick succession off Turkey’s Black Sea coast late Friday afternoon.
The official said the two tankers were vessels that were sanctioned by the West, adding that Ukrainian intelligence continued “to take active steps to curtails Russia’s financial capabilities to wage war against Ukraine.”
With inputs from agencies
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