Kyiv (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is scheduled to meet European leaders in Paris on Thursday, according to a source who told AFP, as part of ongoing international efforts to broker a resolution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“We’re planning such a meeting”
Between Zelensky and European leaders, the source stated Monday, saying that US President Donald Trump
“is not so far expected to be there.”
The source indicated that the primary focus of the Paris discussions will be security assurances for Ukraine and “promoting diplomacy, because the Russians are wriggling out again” of measures to end the fighting.
What security guarantees does Kyiv expect from Western allies?
As reported, the question of Western-backed security guarantees for Ukraine if a truce is reached has been at the forefront of diplomatic discussions about Ukraine in recent weeks.
Kyiv seeks these guarantees to prevent future Russian assaults. A European peacekeeping force has been openly proposed among leaders as a possible security measure for the post-conflict period.
Trump has suggested that the United States might support a European peacekeeping plan, but stated it would not send US troops to Ukraine.
What demands is Putin making regarding Ukraine and NATO?
On the other hand, while attending a summit in China over the weekend, the Russian president reaffirmed his strict stance, reiterating his opposition to Ukraine’s NATO membership ambitions and calling for “a fair balance in the security sphere,” a phrase generally understood as a euphemism for his broad security demands on Europe.
“In order for a Ukrainian settlement to be sustainable and long-term, the root causes of the crisis, which I have just mentioned and which I have repeatedly mentioned before, must be eliminated,” Putin stated.
When did Zelensky last meet European leaders and Trump?
The most recent meeting between Zelensky and European leaders was on August 18, 2025, at the White House. The meeting, a critical expression of solidarity with Zelensky, included several key European leaders, along with US President Donald Trump, to discuss the efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Leaders included Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission; NATO Secretary-General Anthony Blinken; Emmanuel Macron, President of France; Friedrich Merz, Chancellor of Germany; Keir Starmer, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister of Italy; and Alexander Stubb, President of Finland.
