France demands 'robust' guarantees for Ukraine before talks on territory

PARIS: France wants “robust security guarantees” for Ukraine before any talks on Kyiv ceding territory to Moscow to end Russia’s war, President Emmanuel Macron’s team said Tuesday.

“We want robust security guarantees first before any discussions on territory,” said an adviser to Macron, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held talks with US envoys and European leaders in Berlin aimed at reaching a deal to end the nearly four-year-old war.

“We’ve made progress on the issue of guarantees… thanks to a clarification on the form of US support,” the source added.

The talks in Berlin have been building on a US plan for Ukraine that was initially deemed very favourable to Russia. Kyiv and European allies have since been working to revise it, with security guarantees and the question of territories key sticking points.

US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly promised to secure a rapid peace in Ukraine, said Monday that a deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine was closer than ever.

He has shown increasing signs of irritation towards Kyiv, though the United States remains a key supporter in the fight against the full-scale Russian invasion that began in 2022.

European leaders at the Berlin talks have proposed a force as part of US-backed security guarantees aimed at ensuring Russia would not violate an agreement to end the war.

Zelensky has also hailed new security guarantees offered by Washington but said differences remained on the question of what territories Ukraine would have to cede to Russia.

Russia claims the annexation of several Ukrainian regions, which it does not entirely control.

Trump has called it inevitable that Ukraine would need to surrender territory to Russia, an outcome unacceptable to Zelensky.