French President Emmanuel Macron emphasized that the Western coalition holds strong positions in the upcoming peace negotiations aimed at ending the war between Russia and Ukraine. According to him, Western countries have “many trump cards” to achieve favorable agreements.
This is reported by Kyiv24
“I believe we have many trump cards in hand. Ukrainians continue to resist in this war. The Russian economy is beginning to feel difficulties, especially after our latest sanctions,” he said before the start of a meeting in London with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
London consultations and the role of the USA
The meeting in London, attended by the leaders of France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Ukraine, focused on discussing the situation at the front and consultations mediated by the USA. The agenda included issues of further international coordination and finding ways to peacefully resolve the conflict.
It is worth noting that the expression “cards in hand” has been used repeatedly by former US President Donald Trump, particularly regarding Volodymyr Zelensky during a discussion at the White House in February.
International negotiations and the positions of the parties
Last week, a meeting took place in Moscow between American representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and Russian leader Vladimir Putin. They discussed possible parameters for a peace agreement in the war between Russia and Ukraine. Later, Putin confirmed that the Russian side did not agree with some points of the American plan for ending the war.
Following this meeting, the Ukrainian delegation in the USA continued negotiations with representatives of the Trump administration, which lasted several days. On December 8, Donald Trump stated that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had not yet reviewed the American peace proposals. At the same time, Trump emphasized that “his people are thrilled,” and Russia is generally satisfied with the proposed plan, although it “would prefer to have all of Ukraine.”
For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed that significant discrepancies remain among the negotiating parties discussing the peace initiative mediated by the USA regarding territorial issues.