Paris — US secretary of state Marco Rubio joined a “coalition of the willing” video call on post-war security guarantees for Ukraine on Tuesday, the first time a senior US official has done so, French presidency officials said.
In the meeting, co-chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the leaders decided to set up a task force between the US and the coalition countries to “solidify” the security guarantees, the French officials said.
Earlier on Tuesday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine was ready to advance a US-backed framework for ending the war with Russia and discuss disputed points with US President Donald Trump in talks he said should include European allies.
In a speech to the coalition, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, Zelensky urged European leaders to hash out a framework for deploying a “reassurance force” to Ukraine and to keep backing Kyiv for as long as Moscow showed no inclination to end its invasion.
Oil prices fell more than 2% on Tuesday after Ukraine hinted that the diplomatic push could be yielding fruit.
European shares extended gains. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 0.91% firmer at 568.01 points. Major regional bourses also ended higher, with Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC up 1% and 0.8%, respectively.
US and Ukrainian officials have been trying to narrow the gaps between them over Trump’s plan to end Europe’s deadliest and most devastating conflict since World War 2. Ukraine remains wary of being strong-armed into accepting a deal largely on Russian terms, including territorial concessions.
“We firmly believe security decisions about Ukraine must include Ukraine, security decisions about Europe must include Europe ... Because when something is decided behind the back of a country or its people, there is always a high risk it simply won’t work,” Zelensky said, according to his speech text.
“That framework is on the table, and we’re ready to move forward together — with the US, with the personal engagement of President Trump,” he added.
Separately, Trump told a White House event he thought a deal on Ukraine was getting close but gave no other details, saying only, “We’re going to get there.”
Zelensky could visit the US in the next few days to finalise a deal with Trump, Kyiv’s national security chief Rustem Umerov said earlier on Tuesday, though there was no immediate confirmation of such a trip from US officials.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said an amended peace plan must reflect the “spirit and letter” of an understanding reached between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Trump at their Alaska summit.
“If the spirit and letter of Anchorage are erased in terms of the key understandings we have established, then, of course, it will be a fundamentally different situation [for Russia],” Lavrov warned.
Reuters
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