Zelensky calls for "a dignified end" and warns that Russia cannot feel rewarded for the war.

ParisFrench President Emmanuel Macron is not satisfied with Donald Trump's decision to exclude the European Union from peace negotiations in Ukraine. Macron invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the Élysée Palace on Monday to discuss the US peace proposal. The meeting took place the day before a meeting in Moscow between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff. The prevailing narrative is that this will be a key week for the future of the war.

In Paris, Zelensky called for a peace agreement that is fair and not a gift to Putin. "We must ensure that Russia does not get the impression that it is receiving a reward for the war," "We must end the war in a dignified manner," the Ukrainian president said. Zelensky acknowledged that the most difficult issue in the peace negotiations is territory, but he remained optimistic. "Russia must end this war," he demanded.

After weeks of impasse, the US president decided ten days ago to relaunch talks with Moscow and Kyiv, without involving Brussels. But Macron wants to prevent Trump from pressuring Zelensky to sign an agreement that only benefits Putin's interests and insists that there can be no complete peace agreement without Europeans "at the negotiating table." According to the French president, an agreement to end the war must also include security guarantees—the military mission that will deploy European soldiers on the ground—the issue of Ukraine's accession to the EU, and the issue of frozen Russian assets.

France advocates a lasting ceasefire, but believes that Zelensky cannot accept peace at any price. In this regard, Macron warned Trump that only Kyiv can decide on the cession of territory and asserted that the issue is not yet settled: "The United States has assumed a mediating role, and I welcome the work being carried out by the American team under the authority of President Trump [...]. But Ukraine is the only one that can speak for itself."

During their meeting at the Élysée Palace, the two leaders spoke via videoconference first with eight European leaders from within and outside the EU, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and then with US President Steve Witkoff and the Ukrainian negotiator. "We share the conviction that the war must end justly," the President of Ukraine emphasized.

Peace within reach

Zelensky explained to Macron Progress in negotiations following Sunday's meeting in Florida between the US and Ukrainian delegations, who spoke of "productive" talks. Trump appeared optimistic and hinted that the coming days would be key to signing a ceasefire. "I think Russia would like the war to end, and I know Ukraine wants it too," the US president declared. In France, Foreign Minister Jean-Michel Barrot also believes the negotiations are on the right track. "Peace is within reach," he stated in an article in the newspaper. TheSunday Tribune

Tomorrow's meeting between Witkoff and Putin will serve to discuss the changes demanded by Ukraine in the peace plan presented by the United States, which was clearly favorable to Russian interests. But it is not clear that Putin will give in. The Russian president, the instigator of the war, wants Zelensky to relinquish the occupied territories, such as Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia, and to commit to downsizing his army, among other demands.

For Macron, the meeting was also a way to demonstrate his support for the Ukrainian president, who is weaker than ever due to the corruption scandal that has erupted in his government and forced his chief of staff to resign. When questioned about this during the press conference, the occupant of the Élysée Palace deflected the issue. "It is not up to France to give lessons on corruption," he asserted.

Although peace negotiations are accelerating, Putin is not letting up on the ground. Throughout the weekend, Russia attacked the Ukrainian capital and its surrounding region with drones and missiles, a move strongly criticized by Macron. "At the very moment we are talking about peace, Russia continues to bomb and kill. It is an insult and an obstacle to peace," stated Emmanuel Macron.

Just this Monday morning, a Russian ballistic missile struck the city of Dnipro, in the east of the country, killing at least four people and injuring 40, in one of the most serious attacks recorded in the region in recent weeks. According to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, the projectile hit a mechanical workshop and several industrial buildings, causing several fires. The flames affected a garage and the roof of an apartment building.