During recent talks in Riyadh, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke of the need for mutual concessions to reach a peace agreement to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. In particular, he noted that the lifting of Western sanctions against Russia could be part of this process. Rubio stressed that the conflict can only be ended if all parties agree to acceptable terms.

However, European leaders expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that peace talks were being held without their participation. A number of European countries met in Paris to discuss the need for coordination of efforts and European participation in peace talks. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stressed that the conflict should be discussed jointly with the heads of all EU countries, especially those in close proximity to Russia.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also expressed concern about the lack of a unified position in the EU on the issue of settling the conflict in Ukraine. He noted that the emergency summit in Paris did not make any concrete decisions on this issue.

At the same time, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Kier Starmer discussed the possible participation of European countries in a peace settlement, including providing security guarantees to Ukraine. However, there is no agreement among European countries on the issue of sending peacekeeping forces to Ukraine.

Experts do not rule out that the West may refuse to comply with Russia’s demands, since it did not participate in the negotiations.