The head of the presidential administration Andriy Yermak, Foreign Minister Andriy Sibikha and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov arrived in Paris on April 17 to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine and meet with visiting US officials.
“A number of bilateral and multilateral meetings are planned as part of the visit with representatives of the countries of the coalition of the willing and able to provide security guarantees - including France, Germany and the UK“, Yermak told X.
The coalition of the willing, led by Britain and France and comprising about 30 countries, was established in March to provide security guarantees for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire. Six coalition members are reportedly ready to deploy troops to monitor the ceasefire.
“Meetings are also planned with U.S. officials currently in France,“ Ermak said.
France is hosting U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff, who are in the country to “achieve President (Donald) Trump's goal of ending the Russia-Ukraine war,“ the U.S. State Department said.
Kiev and its European partners are working to secure stronger U.S. security commitments to help deter future Russian aggression. With Washington ruling out the possibility of providing troops for the planned “reassuring force“ in Ukraine, London has been trying to persuade Trump to provide at least intelligence or air support - so far without success.
Instead, Trump is trying to broker a ceasefire agreement between Kiev and Moscow, using a strategy seen by critics as favorable to Russian positions.
The US president has temporarily suspended military and intelligence aid to Ukraine to pressure it to the negotiating table, and his threats of imposing additional tariffs and sanctions on Russia have yet to materialize.
Trump's efforts to broker a ceasefire have stalled, however, as Russia continues to reject a full 30-day ceasefire and has violated a partial ceasefire over strikes on energy infrastructure.
This has reportedly led to divisions within Trump's team, with some officials, such as Rubio, pushing for a tougher stance on Kremlin, while Witkoff continues to push for an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin.