President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump as well as French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris for a trilateral meeting on Dec. 7, amid world leaders' visit to France for the reopening of the Notre-Dame Cathedral.
The previously unannounced meeting, confirmed by the Elysee, comes ahead of the January inauguration of Trump. It is the first such between Zelensky and Trump since Trump won the U.S. presidential election in November.
While Trump has pledged to get the U.S. "out" of Russia's war and negotiate a quick peace deal, Ukrainian officials have urged the president-elect to maintain support and adopt a "peace through strength" approach in dealings with Russia.
Zelensky and Trump previously met on Sept. 27 in New York, while Trump was the Republican nominee for president, when the Ukrainian president presented his victory plan to his counterpart. Two of the ideas in the victory plan were explicitly prepared for Trump, according to the Financial Times (FT).
Prior to that, the leaders held a phone call on Nov. 7 after the then-Republican candidate won the presidential election. Zelensky congratulated Trump on his victory during the call.
On Dec. 4, the Ukrainian delegation, led by Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak, also met aides to Trump in Washington.
About 50 heads of state and government will attend the reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral, which has been under reconstruction since 2019 after a fire.
Dmytro Basmat
(Updated: )
