 "Rubio to join 'coalition of the willing' with UK & France for talks on Ukraine")
In a first, senior US officials will join British and French officials on Thursday to hold talks regarding the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Paris to hold talks with top British and French officials, according to The Daily Telegraph.
This will be their first time the Trump administration will join the British- and French-led 'coalition of the willing' for discussions on the war in Ukraine.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron have led efforts to put together a ‘coalition of the willing’ nations to support the war in Ukraine. They have been working to put up a European-led force to enforce any ceasefire reached between Ukraine and Russia and deter any Russian aggression in the future by helping Ukraine rebuild its forces and defences. So far, only the United Kingdom and France have committed troops to the initiative.
British Foreign Minister David Lammy will also join Rubio and Witkoff for talks in Paris.
The Telegraph reported that the meeting will provide opportunity for Witkoff to brief the UK and France on his discussions during his recent talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin — Witkoff travelled to Russia to hold talks with Putin on Friday.
The Department of State told the newspaper that Rubio would join talks with “European counterparts to advance President Trump’s goal to end the Russia-Ukraine war and stop the bloodshed”.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“While in Paris, he will also discuss ways to advance shared interests in the region,” the State Department further said.
The talks in Paris on Thursday come after talks earlier this week in Turkey regarding the proposed ceasefire in the Black Sea.
As per Trump’s ceasefire initiatives, two ceasefire proposals have so far been floated. While one seeks to cease hostilities in the Black Sea, the other seeks to cease attacks on energy infrastructure. While Ukraine has accepted both proposals, Russia has made the acceptance of these proposals conditional. Russia has made a slew of maximalist demands to accept these ceasefires, such as the lifting of sanctions on the agriculture sector.
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