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Zelensky meets with European leaders in Paris

2025-09-04 10:21:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are meeting in Paris on September 4 in a fresh attempt to increase pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin after he vowed his country would fight in Ukraine if a peace deal is not reached.

Anger has grown in the West over what leaders say is the Russian president's unwillingness to reach an agreement to end the war that Moscow launched against Ukraine three and a half years ago.

The summit, to be led by the leaders of France and the United Kingdom, aims to strengthen plans for security guarantees for Ukraine if or when a ceasefire is reached, but also for leaders to have a clearer view of the involvement of the United States.

However, Russia has rejected these guarantees, and Putin himself has said that Moscow is ready to solve all our tasks militarily in the absence of an agreement.

" We are ready, we Europeans, to offer security guarantees to Ukraine and Ukrainians on the day the peace agreement is signed," French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday evening, speaking alongside Zelensky.

Macron said the details of the guarantees are "confidential" but "preparations have been completed" during a meeting of defense ministers held earlier.

European leaders have been reserved about the nature of the guarantees, which are expected to include the deployment of European troops in Ukraine, training and support from the US.

Zelensky, for his part, said he was confident that Kiev's allies would help "increase pressure on Russia to move towards a diplomatic solution."

"Unfortunately, we have not yet seen any signs from Russia that it wants to end the war," Zelensky added.

Hours before the talks were to begin, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the guarantees for Ukraine were absolutely unacceptable.

"There are no guarantees for Ukraine's security, they are guarantees for the danger to the European continent ," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on the sidelines of an economic forum held in Russia's Far East.

She added that Russia will not agree to discuss the deployment of foreign troops in Ukraine in any format./ REL