The Elysee Palace called the meeting on the issue of settling the conflict in Ukraine with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the US President's special envoy Stephen Witkoff "productive", reported the Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"These were constructive negotiations that allowed us to bring our positions closer together", the agency quoted a statement from the French president's administration. According to him, a negotiation process has begun in Paris, "in which the Europeans have joined".
During their visit to France, Rubio and Witkoff were received by French President Emmanuel Macron. Representatives of the American delegation then spoke with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, British Prime Minister's National Security Advisor Jonathan Powell, German Chancellor Jens Plöttner's foreign policy advisor and Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff Andriy Ermak.
The next meeting of representatives of the five countries is scheduled for next week in London, AFP reports.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed in a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Moscow is ready to continue working with the US to reliably eliminate the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported.
The US Secretary of State, who is in Paris, informed his Russian counterpart colleague about the contacts that he and the US President's special envoy Stephen Witkoff had with representatives of Ukraine, France and a number of other European countries.
„It was emphasized that the aforementioned contacts took place in accordance with the topics of the consultations held between Washington and Moscow, including the recent conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Stephen Witkoff in St. Petersburg“, the diplomatic department notes.“
„The Minister and the Secretary of State agreed to maintain operational communication, including in the light of the planned meetings of the Americans and Europeans with the Ukrainian side next week“, the Russian Foreign Ministry concludes ministry.