French foreign ministerJean-Noël Barrotsaid France’s position was “very clear: we want peace, we want negotiations,” as he said “an unconditional truce in air, sea, ground for 30 days” was needed to unblock the talks.
“President Zelensky has shown time and time again, that he is open to negotiation that he wants diplomacy that he wants peace. … Meanwhile, Putin’s only response has been more bombing,” he said.
Barrot said that during the meeting, France will repeat its call “for diplomacy … and for massive sanctions ifRussiaonce again refuses to engage seriously in diplomacy and continues its aggression … on the Ukrainian people.”
Arriving at the same conference, Germany’s new foreign ministerJohann Wadephulsaid thatBerlin “expectsRussiato agree to a ceasefire and then be prepared to negotiate.”
Should talks fail,Germany was ready to offer further arms packagesforUkraine, Reuters reported.
Wadephul also warned Russia about potential further consequences, includingtighter sanctions against Moscow.
Speaking ahead of that meeting in London, Britain’s foreign secretaryDavid Lammysaid Russian presidentVladimir Putinmust “get serious” about engaging in peace talks, PA reported.
Lammy commended Ukraine’s presidentVolodymyr Zelenskyyfor his “willingness to engage in talks,” and said “this is the time for Vladimir Putin to get serious about peace in Europe, to get serious about a ceasefire, and to get serious about talks.”
He also repeated the current line that European leaders are “prepared if this is not the moment of seriousness from Putin,” PA said.
Despite the renewed offer of an immediate ceasefire,UkrainesaidRussiahad fired over a hundred drones overnight, hitting residential buildings in the Odesa region, among others.
In the meantime, we await a formal confirmation about potential direct meeting involving Ukraine andRussiain Turkey later this week, after US presidentDonald Trumpand later Ukrainian presidentVolodymyr Zelenskyyurged Russia’sVladimir Putinto attend high-level talks.
Zelenskyy and Putin have not communicated directly since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and there have been no publicly known talks between Moscow and Kyiv since March 2022, shortly after the war began.
Trump said in a statement on his Truth Social platform that the two sides should“HAVE THE MEETING, NOW!!!”.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’sEuropean allies keep raising pressure on Russia.
Afterthe leaders’ visit in Kyiv over the weekend,foreign ministersfrom Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the EUmeeting in London this morningto discuss what’s next for Ukraine and broader security issues.
I will bring you all the key updates throughout the day.
It’sMonday, 12 May 2025, it’sJakub Krupahere, and this isEurope Live.
Good morning.