Ukraine Peace Talks in Paris Face Uncertainty as US Focus Shifts

PARIS — Leaders of Ukraine’s allies gathered Tuesday in Paris for key talks that could help determine the country’s security after a potential ceasefire in its war with Russia. But prospects for progress are uncertain, with the Trump administration’s focus shifting to Venezuela while U.S. suggestions of a Greenland takeover are causing tension with Europe.

Before the U.S. capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, French President Emmanuel Macron had expressed optimism about the latest gathering of so-called “coalition of the willing” nations. For months, they have been exploring how to deter any future Russian aggression should it agree to stop fighting Ukraine.

In a Dec. 31 address, Macron said that allies would “make concrete commitments” at the summit “to protect Ukraine and ensure a just and lasting peace.”

Macron’s office said Tuesday’s meeting will gather an unprecedented number of officials attending in person, with 35 participants including 27 heads of state and government.

Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, arrived at the Elysee presidential palace in the morning for preparatory talks ahead of the summit.

A series of meetings on the summit’s sidelines illustrated the intensity of the diplomatic effort and the complexity of its moving parts.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived for a meeting with Macron, with the U.S. team due to join them afterward for a working lunch, ahead of the summit.

A news conference including Zelenskyy, Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was planned for the end of the day.

Macron’s office said the U.S. delegation was initially set to be led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who changed his plans for reasons related to the military intervention in Venezuela.

Moscow has revealed few details of its stance in the monthslong U.S.-led peace negotiations. Officials have reaffirmed Russia’s demands and have insisted there can be no ceasefire until a comprehensive settlement is agreed. The Kremlin has ruled out the deployment of troops from NATO countries on Ukrainian soil.

Tension rises over Greenland comments

Witkoff and Kushner arrived in the French capital after Trump on Sunday renewed his call for the U.S. to take control of Greenland, a strategic, mineral-rich Arctic island.

The leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom on Tuesday joined Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in defending Greenland’s sovereignty in the wake of Trump’s comments about Greenland, which is a self-governing territory of the kingdom of Denmark.

But the continent also needs U.S. military might to back up any Ukrainian security guarantees and ward off Russia’s territorial ambitions. That could require a delicate diplomatic balancing act in Paris.

Participants are seeking concrete outcomes on five key priorities once fighting ends: ways to monitor a ceasefire; support for Ukraine’s armed forces; deployment of a multinational force on land, at sea and in the air; commitments in case there’s another Russian aggression; and long-term defense cooperation with Ukraine.

But whether that’s still achievable Tuesday isn’t so clear now, as Trump deals with the aftermath of his decision to effect leadership change in Venezuela.

Ukraine seeks firm guarantees from Washington of military and other support seen as crucial to securing similar commitments from other allies. Kyiv has been wary of any ceasefire that it fears could provide time for Russia to regroup and attack again.

Recent progress in talks

Before the U.S. military operation targeting Maduro, Witkoff had indicated progress in talks about protecting and reassuring Ukraine.

In a Dec. 31 post, Witkoff tweeted that “productive” discussions with him, Rubio and Kushner on the U.S. side and, on the other, national security advisers of Britain, France, Germany and Ukraine had focused on “strengthening security guarantees and developing effective deconfliction mechanisms to help end the war and ensure it does not restart.”

France, which with the United Kingdom has coordinated the monthslong, multination effort to shore up a possible ceasefire, has only given broad-brush details about the plan’s scope. It says Ukraine’s first line of defense against a Russian resumption of war would be the Ukrainian military and that the coalition intends to strengthen it with training, weaponry and other support.

Macron has also spoken of European forces potentially being deployed away from Ukraine’s front lines to help deter future Russian aggression.

Important details unfinalized

Zelenskyy said during the weekend that potential European troop deployments still face hurdles, important details remain unfinalized, and “not everyone is ready” to commit forces.

He noted that many countries would need approval from parliament even if leaders agreed to military support for Ukraine. But he recognized that support could come in forms other than troops, such as “through weapons, technologies and intelligence.”

Zelenskyy said that post-ceasefire deployments in Ukraine by Britain and France, Western Europe’s only nuclear-armed nations, would be “essential.”

“Speaking frankly as president, even the very existence of the coalition depends on whether certain countries are ready to step up their presence,” Zelenskyy said. “If they are not ready at all, then it is not really a ‘coalition of the willing.’”