Speaking with French President Emmanuel Macron at a joint press conference on Monday, Zelensky said Ukraine’s priorities included security guarantees, sovereignty and preventing concessions that would legalize Moscow’s occupation of Ukrainian lands.
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“Our biggest challenge is the regional issue,” he said, urging partners to avoid any outcome that “rewards a war started by it (Russia).”
The comments came as officials from France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom joined discussions in Paris with US special envoy Steve Witkoff as part of an intensified diplomatic effort to end the war, which Russia triggered with its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Zelensky said the meeting also reviewed the substance of talks held a day earlier between Ukrainian and American officials in the United States, adding that more meetings were being prepared across Europe.
Macron reiterated that “Ukraine must determine its own territorial borders”, while indicating that further discussions are planned between Washington and European allies on possible security guarantees for Ukraine if an agreement is reached to end the war.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also stressed the need for unity between Europe and the United States on the path to peace. In a statement, he praised Zelensky’s “consistently constructive approach” and said he hoped Russia would “make its concrete contribution” to future talks.
Regional question deepens diplomatic tension
The territorial issue is becoming the most sensitive point in talks as Witkoff and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner prepare to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.
Zelensky has said he hopes to speak with Trump after those talks. But Ukrainian officials have already told the US that Kiev will not accept any deal that would require it to give up the territory.
“We told the American side that it is unacceptable for Russia to continue its occupation of our territory and then ask us to legitimize it,” Zelenskyy adviser Rustam Umerov told Al Jazeera Arabic. “Abandoning our territory means that international law no longer exists and any party can use force to subvert the sovereignty of another party.”
Umerov said that security guarantees remain a delicate part of the discussion, because “we are demanding security for both Europe and Ukraine”. He said that negotiations would be “extremely difficult” if Russia actually did negotiate, arguing that Moscow still believes that “continuing the war is less costly than ending it”.
Reporting from Brussels, Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahalbarra said EU leaders are insisting that no major concessions should be made to Russia, and that “rather than handing over territory, there needs to be a land swap that can only be decided by the Ukrainian people”.
It comes after a draft of the US plan was leaked to the press in mid-November, sparking criticism in Ukraine and its European allies, who said the document heavily favored Moscow.
The plan proposed limiting Ukraine’s military strength to 600,000 men, with no mention of any limits on Russia. It barred Kiev from ever joining NATO, and also included a plan for Moscow to retain Ukrainian territories captured by it.
Russian attacks hit Dnipro
As diplomatic efforts intensify, Ukraine suffered another deadly attack on Monday. At least four people were killed in a Russian missile attack on the central city of Dnipro, local officials said.
Interfax cited Vladislav Khavanenko, acting head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration, as saying the injuries had risen to 43. He said that the condition of 10 people is critical. An administrative building, several businesses, four educational institutions, several high-rise buildings, two service stations and more than 50 vehicles were damaged by the strike.
Dnipro, located about 100 km (62 mi) from the front lines and home to about one million people before the war, is often targeted by Russian bombing.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces had “liberated” the settlement of Klinov in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, claiming it had advanced deep into Ukrainian positions. However, the Ukrainian military has denied these claims.
Moscow said Ukraine had lost about 1,415 soldiers on the front lines in the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, Kiev reported destroying 1,060 Russian soldiers, one tank, six armored vehicles, 14 artillery systems, 239 drones and 71 vehicles in the same period.
Al Jazeera could not independently verify either side’s battlefield claims.
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