President of Ukraine, Ukraine
LIVE: ‘Coalition of the willing’ holds a press conference on Ukraine meeting
Watch live from Paris as French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz hold a joint news conference. Read more: https://bit.ly/4spe33s
#zelenskyy #emmanuelmacron #ukraine #france #live
About Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that Ukraine is bracing for a large-scale Russian attack involving drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles, based on intelligence shared by partners. He stated that Russia is testing NATO countries' air defenses and using political pressure to discourage support for Ukraine. Zelenskyy also reported that Ukraine has liberated 590 square kilometers of territory since the beginning of the year and that its long-range strikes have reduced Russian oil refining by 10%, forcing some Russian oil companies to shut down wells. He said that Ukraine is strengthening defenses along the northern border with Belarus and Russia, and that his government is preparing for the next winter by restoring energy infrastructure damaged by Russian strikes. Zelenskyy has been engaged in diplomatic efforts with European leaders in the E3 format (UK, France, Germany) and with the U.S. side, including meetings with Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, Lindsey Graham, and Mark Bruta, focusing on security guarantees for Ukraine. He stated that Ukraine has confirmation from its intelligence that Russia is sharing satellite images with Iran of targets in Middle Eastern countries, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Jordan, and that Russia is helping Iran attack U.S. bases and energy systems. Zelenskyy has also emphasized the need for continued sanctions pressure on Russia, arguing that only significant financial losses will force Russia to end the war, and has called for a ceasefire at least during Easter, a proposal he said was conveyed to Russia through the Americans.
Transcript (24 segments)
✨ AI-enhanced transcript with speaker attribution
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy0:03
Please strategic Ukraine.
Francisco President Francisco Declaration of Inter between the French Republic, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ukraine relating to the deployment of multinational forces in support of the defense, reconstruction and strategic sustainability of Ukraine. Signatory for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Sir Keir Starmer, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Signatory for the French Republic: Mr. Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic. Signatory of Ukraine.
Press conferencing.
Chancellor, Prime Minister, Prime Minister, Special, Ladies and General, just countries that make up the coalition of the willing we've had since last year and the president of the European but today we've made considerable thisation. They guarantee the security of the security guard from our general staff. And here there is a fully coordinator. All the work done in recent we have consolidated our approach. Firstly, leadership said they were willing then long that are in the front line. So we will have 800,000 men with training capabilities and all the necessary resources army can deter the. That was a good staff of Germany and Poland to salute work done by Turkey. They are willing to take over. And fourthly, these commitments to spread through solidarity and intervention mechanism. Second at the same time. We have the guarantee for Ukraine after sign of Europe. Part of our discussion focusing on European contributions to speed up so that in the next few weeks that will be finalized will be a major component of all of this essential of what the negotiation. And we want therefore possible that never can surrender and disagreement a new threat for Ukraine. All the countries in the coalition that we had last year. All those actors play the same desire for peace that this be lasting and we're all peace agreements signed by Russia in the last years have all been broken. Based on that experience we want to have peace and experience these guarantees of the win Ukraine. We will continue to provide our support all the challenges civilians target. We will also continue our sanctions and colleagues that. I'll now hand to president transfer the American representatives and all the terms which is the representative New Zealand. Representation joint and there's also and this illustrates the Parliament reaches the system the forces will be set up which countries to continue. We assessing which necessary army will be forces. Necessary. We each of them and allow me to thank contribute to this. We also we had very discussions with the American delegation regarding monitoring instrument crucial peace and prevent other. Mr. Mr. Mr. We are working on some bilateral agreements and bilateral documents as well as trilateral documents and are hoping to sign soon in different formats. We will very grateful for the United States of America. We can provide the necessary report to that Russia cannot and we very much guarantee must be based on legal grounds confirmed by the American of course some issues we may regarding these documents document what we really need to work upon the issue of territory we have a number of volunteers that could be held issues are not between the leaders continue the American representatives that already existed. Russia has respect as to who to do what should be done to put an end to this war. Resolve the Ukraine Ukraine means diplomat because not diplomacy strikes. Concentrating on policy infrastructure and we discussed President Trump for his diplomat. This has been engaged. The stronger our friends, the stronger will be our diplomacy. So, thank you to all of you for your support. Thank you.
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Keir Starmer16:16
Thank you, Emanuel. And, it's important that we're starting the year like this, European and American allies side by side with President Zelenskyy standing for peace. And we are closer to that goal than ever. But of course, the hardest yards are still ahead. So, we're here today to keep driving that effort forward, and we've had a very constructive meeting, which is built on the excellent progress made in negotiations over recent days and weeks. The purpose of the coalition of the willing is to help deliver a peace that can last and to work with the US to guarantee Ukraine security for the long term. This work is now more advanced than ever. Today's joint declaration set that out in clear terms. On top of that, and alongside President Zelenskyy and President Macron, we went even further today. We signed a declaration of intent on the deployment of forces to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal. This is a vital part of our ironclad commitment to stand with Ukraine for the long term. It paves the way for the legal framework under which British, French, and partner forces could operate on Ukrainian soil, securing Ukraine's skies and seas and regenerating Ukraine's armed forces for the future. We discussed these issues in detail today and so I can say that following a ceasefire, the UK and France will establish military hubs across Ukraine and build protected facilities for weapons and military equipment to support Ukraine's defensive needs. And with our coalition partners, we've also agreed significant further steps. First, that we will participate in US-led monitoring and verification of any ceasefire. Second, we will support the longtime provision of armaments for Ukraine's defense. And third, we will work towards binding commitments to support Ukraine in the case of a future armed attack by Russia. This is all about building the practical foundations on which peace would rest. But we can only get to a peace deal if Putin is ready to make compromises. And so we have to be frank. For all Russia's words, Putin is not showing that he's ready for peace. Over the last few weeks, we've seen the opposite: further horrific strikes on Ukraine, killing and wounding civilians and cutting off power for millions of people in the dead of winter. His forces hit a hospital in Kyiv just yesterday. And he's tried to distract from peace efforts with unfounded claims of attacks on his residents. Now, this only hardens our resolve. We will continue to step up our support for Ukraine's defense in 2026 to ensure it gets the equipment and backing it needs to continue the fight. And we will keep the pressure up on Russia, including further measures on oil traders and shadow fleet operators funding Putin's war chest. We will continue these efforts until they come to the table in good faith and until we realize the goal that we all share of a just and lasting peace.
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy20:04
Thank you. Thank you.
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Keir Starmer20:11
Chancellor Friedrich over to you.
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Friedrich Merz20:14
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, this new year is beginning exactly the way the old ended. That's to say diplomacy for Ukraine. Today's meeting was a further step on this path towards peace. So I'd like to start his hospitality for preparing along with today since we have built on the progress that we achieved here in Berlin. This is a shared success. I'd also like to states thank them for their support efforts at the same strategic first. So we want to make sure that weapons of Ukraine after four years of war be finally silenced. The country is on the verge of humanitarian energy crisis and therefore we are stepping up enormous efforts to reach. Secondly, we want there to be a ceasefire unlike the Supreme 2021 based on strong Europeans that this ceasefire. Today we focused on the contribution of Europe and its partners after a ceasefire Ukraine as we shouldering our responsibilities that in the future there are strong forces in Ukraine constitute a credible deterrent for arming training and some monitoring take part in the monitoring of also make a contribution to strengthen Ukraine on land and the sea and in the air. We agree for the condition needs to be strongly binding including from the American to provide security United States. Secondly, in such a way willing to actually working partners in the have to go through their domestic processes to decide what they will make. Germany will continue to be politically, financially. It could mean for example, Ukraine neighboring NATO, the type and scope of German contribution decided by parliament these conditions. German government. I would say that for the moment in the fourth year of the war, Germany is Ukraine's strongest supporter. Germany will accept it for security of Ukraine and for promote reconstruction. We are working among European partners. President explained how the commission and this reconstruction isn't associated question security guarantees economic strength or will be an indispensable guarantee in the future Ukraine guarantee. So they will admit this also means certain expectations as we discussed Ukraine must make sure men find decent jobs in their own country rather than traveling to Germany, Poland. This is something that we have already discussed in Brussels together. This is an expectation that Ukraine. So listen, no one can say today will be silenced in Ukraine months. We will not be able to achieve the ideal diplomat of peace. Not as much as we would like but to learn not from but from the existing geopolitical we will go about this view of what a stable security guarantee and. So once again, thank you for this excellent meeting today. It really was worth coming together in such great numbers. Never happened before. Coalition of the willing. We've never had so many people in one room as we have today in Paris. It shows clearly to Russia that they have to stop the war. There's no point of the world. We are willing to work with Ukraine and US to find a way through to permanent or stable peace in Europe. So all the best for Ukraine. Thank you very much.
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Steve Witkoff27:07
Hello. Hello. So my name is Steve Witkoff. Hello everybody. President Macron, I want to thank you for your hospitality. You're an incredible man and thank God for you. And President Zelenskyy, I want to thank you for your commitment to the peace here. Your team, you have an outstanding team and it's our privilege to work on this endeavor. I want to be clear that Jared and I have been working with Ambassador Kushner for close to 10 hours today and we'll be meeting with the Ukrainian delegation this evening continuing that work because President Trump's mandate is that he wants a peace in Ukraine and we are determined on his behalf to do everything possible to attain that peace. A lot of progress began first in Geneva. We made tremendous progress there. We moved on to Berlin. Lots of progress happened there. And as President Zelenskyy identified, we had a very compelling meeting in Mar-a-Lago. And we look forward to more progress as a result of everything that's occurred today. We think we're largely finished with security protocols which are important so that the people of Ukraine know that when this ends, it ends forever. But we also think critically that we are very very close to finishing up as robust a prosperity agreement as any country has ever seen coming out of conflicts like this. It will aspirationally mean large possibilities for the Ukrainian people, for people coming home from war who will find wonderful jobs out there. We're working with BlackRock, Larry Fink in this endeavor and we think it's going to be very very important for the people of Ukraine and we believe that a robust economy correlates and works directly with these security protocols. It makes Ukraine a strong independent nation and we think that's really important in terms of their long-term future. Jared and I are prepared to do anything necessary to work with our European colleagues. Prime Minister Starmer, you've been incredible, as has Chancellor Merz and all of the European nations who we met today, who we spoke with. It's all been an important meeting today and we think we've made a lot of progress. We heard President Zelenskyy and some of the others people here talking about land options that will be the most critical issue and that subject we're going to be continuing with on those discussions and hopefully we'll be able to meet or come up with certain compromises with regard to that. But I do want to say this, we are here to mediate and help in the peace process and we're prepared to do anything necessary to get to that place. President Trump strongly, fervently believes that this killing has to stop, that the carnage has to stop, and we're determined, all of us up here, to be a part of that.
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Jared Kushner30:28
Nothing to add. That was perfectly said. Okay. Thank you.
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Keir Starmer30:36
Questions. We'll take questions now.
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Reporter30:49
Good evening from president, prime minister, head coalition of willing has come to security hoping for the support. Trump has noticably committed to Venezuela after what the threats can trust allies. We should think with our United States. Should we consider deploying to protect that territory to protect this? Is it because you want to protect links with the United States you haven't condemned the intervention in Venezuela? Thank you that multiple question and I wish you a happy new year.
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Emmanuel Macron31:56
The question of Venezuela which I think is not really connected to diplomacy. French diplomacy has already expressed itself. We have to see that message. I think I've been very clear. Regarding today's matters of President Trump's special envoy, commitments by President Trump at the end of last year with president that was about American commitment to this meeting is a milestone. We defenders in line what France has been defending is a more strategy with more economy. Europe taking responsibility are taking into account share in his one too. President felt that Europeans must bear a greater share of the burden. That's what he's asking us to do to work is to get the Europeans, Japan, Prime Minister and the Canadian Prime Minister with us today and is fully security team offering security. What we're saying is in particular assurance. So in this context the support of the United States is very important countries member countries American capability for exclusivity for certain components have the ability to provide certain importance recent have as said in our that was already on step forward and succup authorities at these different levels of the monitoring and observation capabilities are absolutely confirmed. We have put together a meaningful construct do more. We under say the best and in that context going along with the president last year confirmed Kushner and that guarantee but on the part of the I have no reason given all the work that is done with the United States in order to UN charter signatory and NATO they are closer to us here in Europe and it's that they are and they have worked alongside us in recent weeks. Thank you.
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Reporter36:46
Hello to everyone. Oleksandr Kachena, Ukrainian channel one. I have a few questions. First one for Ukrainian President. Question to European leaders. Could you explain specifically what would be a contribution from each of your country? Can we name a number of troops and mandate they will have? And to the American side, if I may, what does it mean being a backstop in the security guarantees? And when are you going to present them to President Trump and to the Russian side? Is there any specific date for meeting? Thank you.
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy37:48
Thank you.
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Jared Kushner38:08
American some protestation security that legally binding because most of the coalition necessary to have the support of parliament and we count on them for that. So with regards to the security guarantees there was extensive conversations about that with President Zelenskyy and President Trump at Mar-a-Lago in December and I think that they really resolved most if not all the issues that are outstanding on that. These have been really designed over the last really month in consultation with the Ukrainians with the Europeans. I will say I think today was a very very big milestone and I thank President Macron for assembling this and for all the work that everyone here has done behind the scenes to bring this together. This does not mean that we will make peace but peace would not be possible without the progress that was made here today. Meaning that if Ukraine is going to make a final deal they have to know that after a deal they are secure. They have obviously a robust deterrence and there's real backstops to make sure that this will not happen again. One of the reasons why President Trump is comfortable with where the security guarantees are headed towards is because based on his assessments and his conversations with President Putin is that if we can make the right deal, it would mean a deal where both sides look to deescalate, that there's a real monitoring mechanism, real ability if there ever is a violation to have deconfliction and hopefully deescalation. And obviously you create a robust deterrence, peace through strength where it's unlikely that somebody will ever go and start this again. So, this is a really important building block towards an eventual peace deal and I think that it's a big big milestone that was reached today between the Europeans with coalition of the willing. And I really want to just thank the DoD and the whole amazing team in the US. Obviously, you saw last week the incredible capability of the US military and that's just a small piece of what they're capable of doing. And so they've been really thinking about this and they believe that a real peace here is possible and there are ways to stand behind it.
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Reporter41:03
James Mates, ITV News, from London. Mr. Prime Minister, today's commitments by the United States are already being called a game changer and I know there's a reluctance to talk about Greenland today. But what value do these commitments have on the very day that at the highest levels of government in Washington they are talking about seizing the sovereign territory of a fellow NATO member? Mr. Witkoff or Mr. Kushner, if I may ask you, the commitments made today, does President Trump commit to coming to the aid of any European forces deployed in Ukraine were they to come into conflict with Russian forces? Will President Trump have their back? And President Zelenskyy, if I may ask you, is this enough? You said before today you were 90% of the way towards a peace agreement. How close are you now?
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Keir Starmer41:59
Let me start on the question of Greenland. I've been very clear as to what my position and the position of the UK government is both in statements I made myself yesterday and in the statement that was put out earlier today. I've been equally clear that the relationship between the UK and the US is one of our closest relationships particularly on issues on defense security and we work with the US 24/7 on those issues. So far as today is concerned, the coalition of the willing was set up just under a year ago now with the aim to bring about a just and lasting peace and we knew that that would require security guarantees. We worked on military plans which were prepared over the early months of the year to a point of several months ago we were able to set them out with clarity. Today we've made real progress on the political commitment declarations and commitments that have been made today. The biggest meeting of the coalition of the willing in terms of the number of leaders here and the first meeting of the coalition where we've been sat together with our American colleagues around the same table hammering out these issues. So this is the political declaration that goes with it and we've made some real progress on those security guarantees. They're set out in the documents we've issued, but they include on issues such as working with the US on ceasefire monitoring, on binding commitments to support Ukraine and on the operations headquarters here in Paris. And as Jared said a moment ago and I thank Steve and Jared for all the work they've done in recent weeks particularly on the security guarantees and for being here today at our meeting but peace is only possible because of the progress that we're making in these meetings of the coalition of willing and that we've made here today and I'm really pleased that nearly a year after we begun this work with the coalition of the willing that we've got this now with security guarantees. Of course, nobody is saying that is job done. Of course, there's more work always to be done. But we made some real progress today and that is a good thing for Ukraine. It's a good thing for Europe. It's a good thing for the United Kingdom because of course this is about our security, our defense, our freedoms, and the impact that it's already had over four long years on Ukraine, on Europe, and back in the United Kingdom.
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Steve Witkoff44:37
President strongly strongly stands behind security protocols. Those security protocols are meant to deter any attacks any further attacks in Ukraine and if there are any attacks they're meant to defend and they will do both. They are as strong as anyone has ever seen. Everyone on this panel on this stage up here has acknowledged that as has almost all of the countries that sat at the table with us today. The president does not back down from his commitments. He is strong for the country of Ukraine and for a peace deal and we will be there for the Ukrainians in helping them to get to that final peace and we're confident we will get there.
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Keir Starmer45:25
You want to say something, Jerry? Perfect.
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy45:28
Thank you very much for your question. So first of all we have declaration and this I think this is a huge step forward because one year ago we couldn't even think about it and now we have this step. Yes, of course not enough, not still enough. We will have document which will be supported I hope I'm sure between us will be supported by European parliaments and that will be enough then. We have really very good dialogue with American side. Thanks again, Stephen, Jared. So, we really have good steps forward. Yes, 90% but we are each day a little bit closer. It's still not enough to have a peace because enough when the war will finish will end in Ukraine, we still have losses. So, it's still not enough. Thank you very much.
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Reporter46:25
Okay. From one of them is perhaps Germany is willing in a neighboring nation. Could you say a bit more about that? There are expectations. You said that Germany's biggest supporter. Do you think we should up our military?
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Friedrich Merz47:12
We discussed that at length among of course we were able to figure out exactly how. At the moment as a security guarantee has not yet been fully addressed. We have some very specific available Germany is going to be in that will mean there has to be government followed by confirmation. Will make that perhaps once we have a coalition of the willing we have a consensus view on how to proceed we're moving but I said it can be the right thing to do both things to place troops but that means strengthening Ukrainian troops, but also in neighboring perhaps other troops would be available for intervention Russian aggression. I'm saying it's all in the conditional the total not being but the basic premise for all this is a ceasefire and that then has to be security for peace and that is why we are also committing to that. It's not just about the territorial integrity of Ukraine. It's about the lasting maintenance of the political freedom that we have in Europe. We've always protected that and deterrence. It's been the case for the last 70 years and I imagine that will be the case of decades going forward as well.
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Keir Starmer49:33
That's the end of the press conference. Thank you all very much and good night and happy new year once again to you all.