Zelenskyy says US peace plan ‘looks better’ with revisions but work continues

PARIS (AP) – Ukraine’s president spoke optimistically Monday about the progress of revising the Trump administration’s peace plan, saying “it looks better” and the work will continue during talks on how to end Russia’s nearly four-year war.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke after meeting with France’s president, the latest in discussions aimed at brokering the terms for a potential ceasefire in the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II.

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin would meet with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff on Tuesday. Witkoff’s role came under scrutiny last week following a report that he coached Putin’s foreign affairs adviser on how Russia’s leader should pitch to Trump on the Ukraine peace plan.

Zelenskyy’s visit to Paris followed Sunday’s meeting between Ukrainian and U.S. officials, which Secretary of State Marco Rubio described as productive. The two sides have worked to revise the proposed U.S.-authored plan that was developed in negotiations between Washington and Moscow but criticized as being too weighted toward Russian demands.

“It’s a process, it’s not over yet,” Zelenskyy said. He called the topic of Ukraine’s control over its territories “the most complicated” in discussions over the plan.

French President Emmanuel Macron said talks are still in a “preliminary phase” but called the flurry of diplomatic activity “a moment that could be a turning point” for the future of peace in Ukraine and security in Europe.

After criticism from Ukraine and its European allies, President Donald Trump has downplayed his administration’s original 28-point peace framework, which would have imposed limits on the size of Ukraine’s military, blocked the country from joining NATO and required Ukraine to give up territory. He now calls it a “concept” to be “fine-tuned.”

The French leader said he wanted to praise the U.S. peace efforts but insisted that any peace plan can “only be finalized with Europeans around the table.”

Last week, Macron urged Western allies to bring “rock-solid” security guarantees to Ukraine in case a ceasefire or a peace deal is be reached. He has endorsed deploying a “reassurance force” on land, at sea and in the air to help ensure the country’s security.

The French president said Monday that the coming days will see “crucial discussions” between U.S. officials and Western partners, who would aim to clarify U.S. participation in security guarantees.

Macron’s office said he and Zelenskyy held talks with other European partners including leaders from Britain, Germany, Poland, Italy, Norway, Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands. Also included were European Union officials Antonio Costa and Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

Macron and Zelenskyy also had phone calls with Witkoff, Macron’s office said.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Monday expressed concern that the U.S.-Russia talks might end up with Ukraine having to make more concessions, like being pressured to surrender territory.

“I’m afraid that all the pressure will be put on the victim,” Kallas told reporters in Brussels after chairing a meeting of EU foreign and defense ministers.

Peskov on Monday also condemned Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure over the weekend, including an attack on an oil terminal owned by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, or CPC, and another that targeted two tankers in Turkish waters.

A major oil terminal near the port of Novorossiysk halted operations Saturday after a strike by unmanned boats damaged one of its three mooring points, according to a statement from CPC, which owns the terminal. It came a day after Ukrainian naval drones struck two oil tankers in the Black Sea that were reported to be part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” that evade sanctions.

Ukraine confirmed on Saturday it carried out the attacks.

Peskov described both incidents as “outrageous” and noted of the CPC terminal that “we’re talking about an international facility.”

Meanwhile, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Russian forces had destroyed 32 Ukrainian drones overnight. The drones were shot down over 11 Russian regions, as well as the Sea of Azov, the ministry said.

An apartment block was damaged during a Ukrainian attack on the city of Kaspiysk in Russia’s Dagestan region, local Gov. Sergei Melikov said. Located on the shore of the Caspian Sea close to Russia’s border with Azerbaijan, the city is more than 1000 kilometers (620 miles) from the front line.

A Russian missile strike around midday Monday killed four people and wounded 40 others, 11 critically, in the eastern city of Dnipro, according to the head of regional administration Vladyslav Haivanenko.

The strike hit the city center, damaging four residential high-rises, an educational facility and the storage facility of a humanitarian organization, said Mayor Borys Filatov, adding that search and rescue operations were ongoing.

Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia had fired 89 strike and decoy drones overnight Sunday before the attack on Dnipro, of which 63 drones were shot down or jammed.

Overall in November, Russia fired 100 missiles of various types and 9,588 reconnaissance and strike drones into Ukraine, according to the Air Force’s monthly report published Monday.

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Associated Press writers Katie Marie Davies in Manchester, England, and Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.