Name: "Mr Witkoff has been falling for this typical old KGB game for a very long time" | DW News
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Vladimir Zelensky is in Paris rallying support amongst European allies as talks to end the war in Ukraine enter another pivotal week.

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Speaking alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, the Ukrainian President said it was important that Russia was not rewarded for its invasion of his country.

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President Macron said Moscow had shown no sign of ending its aggression and he reiterated Ukraine's right to decide what happens on its own territory.

Their meeting follows talks in Miami between Ukraine and the United States.

Substantial changes have been made to an earlier 28 point plan which was widely seen as being too favorable towards Russia.

Our correspondent Lisa Louis in Paris told me more.

Well, Emmanuel Macron, the French leader has reiterated his support for Ukraine, the European support for Ukraine really.

This is the 10th time President Zelensky has come to Paris since the start of Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

And if there's one point that stuck out during that conference is that it's that President Macron said the plan for security guarantees for Ukraine has been finalized by the European leaders and that that plan would now have to be taken to other parties, namely the US to see how the US could chip in once a peace plan, a peace agreement has been found in Ukraine.

Well, EU defence ministers meanwhile have ended their meeting in Brussels with a promise to continue the search for a way to support Ukraine financially.

Kyiv's European allies have been largely excluded from U S led negotiations around the peace deal proposed by the White House.

Perhaps the consequence of being sidelined out of U S led peace talks for Ukraine.

Less than half of the 27 European Union senior defense ministers showed up for their meeting in Brussels, many sending junior representatives instead.

The EU backs Ukraine's demands not to have to give up land or shrink its army to the point it can't defend itself.

But it's clear the Europeans know their position is weakened.

I'm afraid that all the pressure will be put on the victim which is that Ukraine has to make concessions and obligations whereas you know, in order to have peace we shouldn't lose focus that actually Russia, who has started this war.

DW's Terry Schultz pressed the Dutch minister about whether the US is listening to them at all.

Are they taking your concerns into account?

What I've seen over the last week is that there have been a lot of conversations, a lot of discussions, but

And at the points that European countries and EU have brought up have also been taken seriously by the United States.

The most noticeable absentee minister, Belgium's Theo Franken his country is under pressure from other EU governments for refusing to release around 140 billion euros of Russian assets held in a financial institution in Brussels.

As EU funding options for Ukraine dwindle and as Russian shelling continues, one of the big concerns for EU countries is that they'll have to shoulder the financial burden of rebuilding the country without having had a say in the terms of any peace deal.

Nothing about the Europeans, without the Europeans.

And we, of course, are going to have a central role in the rebuilding of Ukraine as well.

So the more we are involved, the better of a peace agreement we can achieve.

So our involvement is absolutely crucial for EU countries right now.

Finding a way back into the diplomatic inner circle with the US Seems to be the priority.

Well, the shuttle diplomacy to end this war in Ukraine continues Tomorrow, Tuesday, when U.S.

The Kremlin has confirmed that he'll meet with President Putin now.

These images are from their meetings earlier this year.

Mr. Wycoff will take with him to Moscow the amended version of the initial 28 point point plan.

Ukraine has given tentative support for an amended version of the plan as the ball now shifts to Russia's court.

Ivana Stradna is a research fellow with the Russia Program at the foundation for Defense of Democracies.

She joins us from Washington, D.C. welcome to DW.

Is any of today's European diplomatic activity in Brussels and in Paris likely to have any effect on tomorrow's talks in Moscow?

As we just heard on your show, nothing about Europe without Europe.

So I think that's the approach that we need to have, because the most important thing that we have to understand right now is that Putin is trying to put a ball in Ukraine's court and to ask maximalist demands.

And unfortunately, Mr. Witkov has been falling for this typical old KGB game for a very long time.

So I have no doubt that tomorrow Russia will reject the initial plan to ask again maximalist demands to put back, you know, the paper in back in Washington, D.C.

Number one, to portray Ukraine as an unreliable ally, and

number two, to buy more time because Putin does not want to end this war anytime soon.

So that's precisely what we have to understand how Putin thinks these days.

But let's not get into the land of wishful thinking.

You say nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.

Witkoff goes to Moscow tomorrow and comes back, as you suspect, with a list of Russian demands.

My question to you was, has anything that has happened today in Brussels and Paris, is anything likely to have any effect on tomorrow's talks in Paris and it's in Moscow.

And it sounds like you think the answer to that question is no.

So, you know, Putin doesn't even consider Europe as a serious actor.

And that's why he's trying to negotiate with the United States.

And that's something that Europe should absolutely reject because Europe should be the one, you know, deciding about Europe's future.

What the United States has to do right now is to understand that one of the most important pillar of our gravity is our alliances.

I mean literally any deal, he has to understand that it's better to have no deal in the short run than to have any deal in the long run.

And that's precisely why Europe discussing security guarantees, why Europe discussing the future economic development and why Europe discussing European and NATO path for Ukraine has to be on the table.

Because after all, Europe is also to put the EU is also to put in a context like the great power.

Let me just push back against that again, because the United States doesn't have to do anything.

The United States just has to do what it feels like it has to do.

Whether that be put a deal to Ukraine that Ukraine finds unacceptable or put to Ukraine the fact that you sign the deal or we walk away.

The United States has to do what it feels in its best interest.

I think it's very important not to discuss what Trump says, but what he does.

And I doubt that he's going to abandon Ukraine in the long run.

What Trump also misunderstands about Russia.

Let me just interrupt on that part and ask you why you believe that when everything that we've seen so far tends to indicate that he's moving in that direction.

Why do you believe he will not walk away from Ukraine?

I don't believe that it's in the US Interest to do that.

And Trump is, after all, a very pragmatic leader.

He understands that Russia, China, Iran and North Korea are working together against also the United States.

He doesn't like Putin because he believes that Putin is a wonderful ally of the United States.

What he misunderstands about negotiating with Putin is that he's trying to use his business strategy about win win strategy negotiation, trying to implement real est tools and techniques, trying to change Putin's behavior.

It was President Trump that did two really good things and we have to give a credit where credit is due.

Number one, to remove nuclear weapons threat that Russia has been banging for a very long time in front of Europe's and US Eyes.

And the second thing, impose sanctions, further sanctions on Russia.

And I would not be surprised if further sanctions would be on the horizon and also arming Ukraine even more after Putin rejects the peace.

So I really don't think that President Trump will abandon Ukraine in the long run.

Are we any clearer on what the 28 point peace plan that Ukraine and the Europeans found so objectionable?

Are we only clear on what that has now morphed into?

So that 28 peace plan was absolutely unacceptable, which asking Ukraine to abandon its territory, to give up on its NATO membership and to limit its military.

We also understand here in Washington, D.C. that Mr. Zelensky is not going to accept something like that.

Rubio correctly emphasized, you know, that we have to think about the future of Ukraine, we have to think about long term peace.

So I think it's too early to speculate anything.

But I would absolutely not exclude the idea that the US Is trying, you know, to push Ukraine.

I would absolutely not support, support the idea that the United States is trying to push Ukraine to give up its territory, because that's not going to work.

Ivana Stradna from the foundation for Defence of Democracies.