Zelenskyy meets Trump in Paris: The next US leader says Ukraine is ready for a deal, but the Ukrainian leader demands peace guarantees.

French President Emmanuel Macron persuaded US President-Elect Donald Trump to meet with his Ukrainian counterpart in Paris, where world leaders have gathered to reopen Notre Dame Cathedral.

After the meeting on December 7, Trump said that Zelenskyy and Ukraine would like to conclude a deal with Russia to “stop this madness” and called for immediate negotiations.

Commenting on the meeting with the US and French leaders, Zelenskyy called it productive and stressed that Trump is “determined.” At the same time, he noted that the talks on ending the war with Russia should focus on strong peace guarantees, as the war cannot be ended with a piece of paper and a few signatures.

“Putin is sick of wars. He can only be stopped by force. We are counting on America and the whole world to stop Putin. The only thing he is afraid of is America and the unity of the world,” Zelensky added.

The Kremlin, in turn, stated that Russia is open to negotiations, and that Putin outlined his conditions back in June.