Ukrainian presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak, who is part of the delegation, confirmed on the Telegram social media platform that Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov will hold a series of bilateral and multilateral meetings with officials from France, Germany and Britain, as well as US envoys.
Among the American participants are Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s special envoy for negotiations with Russia.
A US State Department statement said Rubio and Witkoff would use the talks to “advance President Trump’s goal of ending the bloodshed in the Russia‑Ukraine war.”
The Politico news service earlier reported that Witkoff’s Paris stop follows recent discussions in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin, while Rubio is expected to continue on to Africa after his French meetings.
French President Emmanuel Macron is due to meet with Witkoff, and French Foreign Minister Jean‑Noël Barrot is scheduled to confer with Rubio, according to the report.
France and the UK are coordinating European efforts to devise future security arrangements for Ukraine should a ceasefire take hold.
Paris and London have also proposed deploying international contingents to Ukraine, although European governments are not directly involved in the separate US–Russia contacts being led by the Trump administration.
“We are working on critical issues pertaining to the security of Ukraine and the whole of Europe,” Yermak said, adding that the goal is to build a coalition "willing and able” to provide Kyiv with security guarantees.
(jh/gs)
Source: PAP