Progress for Ukraine Talks Uncertain   01/06 06:59

   Leaders of Ukraine's allies gathered Tuesday in Paris for key talks that 
could help determine the country's security after a potential ceasefire in its 
war with Russia. But prospects for progress are uncertain, with the Trump 
administration's focus shifting to Venezuela while U.S. suggestions of a 
Greenland takeover are causing tension with Europe.

   PARIS (AP) -- Leaders of Ukraine's allies gathered Tuesday in Paris for key 
talks that could help determine the country's security after a potential 
ceasefire in its war with Russia. But prospects for progress are uncertain, 
with the Trump administration's focus shifting to Venezuela while U.S. 
suggestions of a Greenland takeover are causing tension with Europe.

   Before the U.S. capture of Venezuelan leader Nicols Maduro, French 
President Emmanuel Macron had expressed optimism about the latest gathering of 
so-called "coalition of the willing" nations. For months, they have been 
exploring how to deter any future Russian aggression should it agree to stop 
fighting Ukraine.

   In a Dec. 31 address, Macron said that allies would "make concrete 
commitments" at the summit "to protect Ukraine and ensure a just and lasting 
peace."

   Macron's office said Tuesday's meeting will gather an unprecedented number 
of officials attending in person, with 35 participants including 27 heads of 
state and government.

   Trump's envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, arrived at the Elysee 
presidential palace in the morning for preparatory talks ahead of the summit.

   A series of meetings on the summit's sidelines illustrated the intensity of 
the diplomatic effort and the complexity of its moving parts.

   Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived for a meeting with Macron, 
with the U.S. team due to join them afterward for a working lunch, ahead of the 
summit.

   A news conference including Zelenskyy, Macron, British Prime Minister Keir 
Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was planned for the end of the day.

   Macron's office said the U.S. delegation was initially set to be led by 
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who changed his plans for reasons related to 
the military intervention in Venezuela.

   Moscow has revealed few details of its stance in the monthslong U.S.-led 
peace negotiations. Officials have reaffirmed Russia's demands and have 
insisted there can be no ceasefire until a comprehensive settlement is agreed. 
The Kremlin has ruled out the deployment of troops from NATO countries on 
Ukrainian soil.

   Tension rises over Greenland comments

   Witkoff and Kushner arrived in the French capital after Trump on Sunday 
renewed his call for the U.S. to take control of Greenland, a strategic, 
mineral-rich Arctic island.

   The leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom 
on Tuesday joined Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in defending 
Greenland's sovereignty in the wake of Trump's comments about Greenland, which 
is a self-governing territory of the kingdom of Denmark.

   But the continent also needs U.S. military might to back up any Ukrainian 
security guarantees and ward off Russia's territorial ambitions. That could 
require a delicate diplomatic balancing act in Paris.

   Participants are seeking concrete outcomes on five key priorities once 
fighting ends: ways to monitor a ceasefire; support for Ukraine's armed forces; 
deployment of a multinational force on land, at sea and in the air; commitments 
in case there's another Russian aggression; and long-term defense cooperation 
with Ukraine.

   But whether that's still achievable Tuesday isn't so clear now, as Trump 
deals with the aftermath of his decision to effect leadership change in 
Venezuela.

   Ukraine seeks firm guarantees from Washington of military and other support 
seen as crucial to securing similar commitments from other allies. Kyiv has 
been wary of any ceasefire that it fears could provide time for Russia to 
regroup and attack again.

   Recent progress in talks

   Before the U.S. military operation targeting Maduro, Witkoff had indicated 
progress in talks about protecting and reassuring Ukraine.

   In a Dec. 31 post, Witkoff tweeted that "productive" discussions with him, 
Rubio and Kushner on the U.S. side and, on the other, national security 
advisers of Britain, France, Germany and Ukraine had focused on "strengthening 
security guarantees and developing effective deconfliction mechanisms to help 
end the war and ensure it does not restart."

   France, which with the United Kingdom has coordinated the monthslong, 
multination effort to shore up a possible ceasefire, has only given broad-brush 
details about the plan's scope. It says Ukraine's first line of defense against 
a Russian resumption of war would be the Ukrainian military and that the 
coalition intends to strengthen it with training, weaponry and other support.

   Macron has also spoken of European forces potentially being deployed away 
from Ukraine's front lines to help deter future Russian aggression.

   Important details unfinalized

   Zelenskyy said during the weekend that potential European troop deployments 
still face hurdles, important details remain unfinalized, and "not everyone is 
ready" to commit forces.

   He noted that many countries would need approval from parliament even if 
leaders agreed to military support for Ukraine. But he recognized that support 
could come in forms other than troops, such as "through weapons, technologies 
and intelligence."

   Zelenskyy said that post-ceasefire deployments in Ukraine by Britain and 
France, Western Europe's only nuclear-armed nations, would be "essential."

   "Speaking frankly as president, even the very existence of the coalition 
depends on whether certain countries are ready to step up their presence," 
Zelenskyy said. "If they are not ready at all, then it is not really a 
'coalition of the willing.'"