The Albany Gazette - Ukraine's European, US allies meet in Paris on security guarantees

The summit of the so-called "Coalition of the Willing" comes despite no easeup in fighting, almost four years into Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.

The capture by US forces of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, an ally of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, has unsettled some European countries and added a potential new element of transatlantic tension.

Some members of the coalition aim to send a multinational force to Ukraine to deter any future Russian attack if the war sparked by Russia's February 2022 invasion ends.

But no ceasefire deal has been reached as both sides remain at odds over territory in a post-war settlement, with Kyiv insisting Russia must withdraw from all of the Ukrainian territory it currently occupies.

Russia has repeatedly opposed any NATO boots on the ground in Ukraine to monitor a halt in hostilities.

Representatives of 35 countries, including 27 heads of state, will gather in Paris. The French presidency said the meeting aims to show the "alignment" between Washington, Kyiv and European allies on security guarantees for Ukraine.

Zelensky arrived in Paris ahead of the start of the talks on Tuesday afternoon, his office said.

US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner will attend the meeting of the coalition, launched last year by France and Britain.

French President Emmanuel Macron spoke to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney over breakfast at the Elysee presidential palace, ahead of a planned lunch with Zelensky and the US envoys.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni are also to attend, according to diplomatic sources.

- 'Realignment' with the US -

European leaders have been at pains to not firmly condemn the US operation to grab Maduro at the weekend in the run-up to the Paris meeting, while expressing discomfort at the implications for international law.

Before leaving for Paris, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the aim of the meeting was to "tighten and align the European and American positions".

He said this was because "only that kind of pressure has a chance of forcing the Russians to take the issue of a ceasefire, and then peace, seriously". He, warned against expecting final decisions to be made in Paris.

An adviser to Macron on Monday said the new meeting was the culmination of efforts launched after Trump's arrival at the White House to prevent "the United States from abandoning Ukraine".

"We have succeeded in this exercise of realignment between Ukraine, Europe and America," the adviser told journalists.

European leaders are to commit in particular to a shared vision of what a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire would look like, and their response in case of violations.

They will also discuss the deployment of a multinational force to "reassure Ukraine" as part of a possible political agreement, the French presidency said.

To lay the groundwork, security advisers from 15 countries, including Britain, France and Germany as well as representatives from NATO and the European Union, gathered in Kyiv over the weekend, with Witkoff joining virtually.

- 'Difficult conditions' -

Kyiv said in recent days a deal was "90 percent" ready. But Russia, which occupies around 20 percent of Ukraine, is pushing for full control of the country's eastern Donbas region as part of a deal.

Kyiv has warned ceding ground will embolden Moscow and said it will not sign a peace deal that fails to deter Russia from invading again.

Merz on Sunday said diplomatic efforts were being waged "under difficult conditions".

"Russia is showing little willingness to negotiate, President Zelensky is struggling to maintain unity among Ukrainians, and transatlantic cooperation has changed profoundly," he wrote in a letter to lawmakers, a copy of which AFP obtained on Tuesday.

"We want a ceasefire that preserves Ukraine's sovereignty. We therefore want such a ceasefire... to be backed by security guarantees from the US and Europe."

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(D.Sanchez--TAG)