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'Coalition of the willing' to discuss Ukrainian settlement in January — newspaper

These discussions are to take place after the meeting between Vladimir Zelensky and US President Donald Trump

LONDON, December 26. /TASS/. The countries that are part of the "coalition of the willing" plan to hold a new round of talks in January on settling the conflict in Ukraine, the Financial Times reported, citing an unnamed European official.

These discussions are to take place after the meeting between Vladimir Zelensky and US President Donald Trump. According to previous reports from Kiev, the meeting may take place at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida in the coming days.

The Financial Times also quoted an Elysee Palace spokesman, who said that "at some stage Europeans would have to have a direct dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as French President Emmanuel Macron has suggested." The source added that "there is no solution but to keep trying" to convince Russia to agree to a working version of a ceasefire.

The French leader had previously said that it was time for Europe to resume dialogue with Russia. He emphasized that the current format of negotiations on Ukraine, in which US negotiators discuss the terms of a settlement with Russia without the Europeans, "is not optimal."

Last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, commenting on Macron's remarks, that Moscow is always open to dialogue. He recalled that the Russian president has repeatedly emphasized that he is always open to contact "but with polite people who have some basic manners."

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