Ukraine-U.S. talks in France focus on developing unified approach to Russia – expert Chalenko

He shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

"Obviously, we're talking about developing a joint approach regarding the Russian aggressor. The United States fully understands that without the support of the coalition of the willing and without coordination with Ukraine, achieving anything concrete with the Russians simply won't work. And I'd like to point out that from the American side, in addition to Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff, Keith Kellogg has also jumped on board at the last moment. So the series of contacts we're about to witness is aimed, firstly, at speeding up the discussion of a potential contingent in Ukraine, so that this issue could already be brought to the negotiating table. And secondly, it’s an attempt to understand whether a full ceasefire regime is even possible in the short term," he said.

Ihor Chalenko emphasized that Ukraine has supported a full ceasefire since March 11.

"We backed our American partners, but even the so-called energy ceasefire regime, which by the way expires today, was violated by Russia more than 30 times. So, de facto, the regime operated one-sidedly. Ukraine adhered to it, Russia did not. That’s why I believe that the next steps will focus on further developing this case and increasing support for Ukraine, because it's clear that we have certain problems — including with air defense. Yes, there was the Ramstein Coalition, which announced €21 billion in commitments. But even with that, the current focus is on accelerating the delivery of what is urgently needed right now," the expert said.

• On Thursday, April 17, Chief of Staff to the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov arrived in Paris, where they are scheduled to meet with representatives of the United States.