US, Ukraine teams tackle ‘most difficult issues’ in Russia war talks: Zelensky

PARIS: Washington and Kyiv teams in Paris were on Wednesday expected to tackle Ukraine talks’ “most difficult issues” including territory following a breakthrough in European-led negotiations, Ukraine’s leader said.

On Tuesday, European leaders and US envoys announced they had agreed key security guarantees for Kyiv as they sought to present a united front for Ukraine despite raging tensions over Venezuela and President Donald Trump’s designs on Greenland.

US envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner represented Washington in the talks amid efforts to end nearly four years of war in Ukraine sparked by Russia’s invasion.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Kyiv and Washington teams would dedicate the second day of the Paris talks to the fate of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and control of territory in eastern Ukraine.

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“Another session of talks with envoys of the president of the United States will take place, and this will already be the third such session in two days,” he said on Facebook.

“The most difficult issues from the basic framework for ending the war will be discussed – namely, issues related to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and territories.”

Zelensky also stressed it was important for Kyiv’s Western allies to put pressure on Moscow.

“Peace must be dignified. And this depends on the partners – on whether they ensure Russia’s real readiness to end the war,” he said.

Kyrylo Budanov, Zelensky’s new chief of staff and former top spy, on Wednesday said “there are already concrete results” but added that “not all information can be made public”.

A European diplomatic source said that representatives of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom were involved in fresh Paris talks on Wednesday, as well as some from Italy and Turkey.

On Tuesday, Ukraine’s Western allies agreed key security guarantees for Kyiv including a US-led monitoring mechanism and a European multinational force that would be deployed after a ceasefire in Russia’s war against its neighbour.

But there has been no let-up in fighting in what has been Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II and Moscow’s current negotiating position is far from clear.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said he does not want to see NATO troops on the ground in Ukraine.