Rubio and Witkoff Discuss Ukraine Conflict With European Allies in Paris

The pair have been leading the Trump administration’s efforts to procure a peace deal in Ukraine and end the war.

France's President Emmanuel Macron (L) shakes hands with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (2R) next to US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff (C) and France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot before a meeting at the Elysee presidential palace in Paris on April 17, 2025. US Secretary of State was in Paris today to meet French President about crafting a Ukraine ceasefire, as Washington and Europe seek common ground on ending the fighting. Top Ukrainian officials were also in the French capital to meet EU and US delegations. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / POOL / AFP) Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Paris on Thursday, along with President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, for talks about the conflict in Ukraine.

Andrii Yermak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, have also arrived in Paris for the talks.

Yermak said there would be, “a series of bilateral and multilateral meetings with representatives of the states of the coalition of the willing that are able to guarantee security.″

The United States is seeking to broker a cease-fire and a permanent peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine but the Trump administration’s efforts have been stymied.

The State Department said in a statement issued on Wednesday that the talks will included ways to advance shared interests in the region.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy is also taking part in the Ukraine talks, along with two senior representatives of the German government.

Rubio and Witkoff are also meeting separately with France’s president Emmanuel Macron, and will also hold talks with Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.

The pair have been leading the Trump administration’s efforts to procure a peace deal in Ukraine and end the war, which has dragged on for more than three years.

Several rounds of negotiations have been held in Saudi Arabia, and Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg on April 11.

Moscow and Kyiv agreed last month to pause strikes on energy facilities for 30 days, but both parties have alleged the other side has breached it on a daily basis.

Russia has said any cease-fire needed to be subject to a halt on Ukraine receiving more arms supplies from its NATO allies, a condition Kyiv has rejected.

The talks are taking place as both Russia and Ukraine claimed they had been hit by drone strikes overnight, following a controversial strike by Russia on Palm Sunday.

On Sunday, Kyiv said 34 people had been killed when Russia fired missiles at the town of Sumy in northeastern Ukraine—in what is being described as the largest single Russian attack on Ukraine so far this year.

Speaking to reporters shortly afterward, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated Moscow’s assertion that Russian forces “carry out strikes solely on military and paramilitary targets.”

Trump told reporters on Sunday, “I’m just trying to get it stopped so that we can save a lot of lives.”

Zelenskyy Calls For ‘Reliable Peace’

On Thursday, Russia’s Defence Ministry said their air defense systems had intercepted and shot down 71 Ukrainian drones over six Russian regions overnight.

They said 49 drones were downed in the Kursk oblast, or region, while the others targeted the oblasts of Bryansk, Ryazan, Oryol, Vladimir and Tula.

In a statement posted on Telegram, the authorities in Ivanovo oblast, east of Moscow, said Ukrainian drones had attacked the town of Shuya, but had not inflicted any casualties.

None of the claims from Ukraine or Russia can be independently verified.

Last week France, Britain and more than 20 defense ministers from other European countries involved in the “coalition of the willing” met at NATO’s headquarters in Brussels to discuss deploying peacekeepers in, or near, Ukraine in the event of a cease-fire.

The European countries are seeking security guarantees from the United States in the event of a peacekeeping operation in Ukraine, something Trump has been unwilling to provide.

The Trump administration is also negotiating a deal with Zelenskyy in which the United States would share in the profits of Kyiv’s mining of rare minerals.

Putin invaded Ukraine in February 2022, seeking to remove the Zelenskyy government and end moves for Kyiv to join NATO, an alliance which Moscow views as hostile.

In December 2021, Moscow had issued a series of demands to Washington and its NATO allies, telling them that to prevent a war, they must prohibit Ukraine from ever joining the alliance.

As well as his involvement in the Ukraine negotiations, Witkoff is also involved in trying to broker a deal with Tehran to end its efforts to create nuclear weapons, a program which the Iranians have always denied.

After the talks in Paris, Witkoff will travel to Rome for a second round of discussions with Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, on Saturday, about Iran’s nuclear program.

The two men met for 45 minutes last Saturday in Oman.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.