Europe tries to revive Ukraine talks as focus shifts to Venezuela

European leaders are meeting in Paris on Tuesday to revive interest in finding a peaceful solution to the war in Ukraine, at a time when Washington and the world’s attention is shifting to the Venezuela crisis.

The US capture and detention of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and their subsequent transfer to the US on criminal charges, attracted global media attention and raised the risk of Washington’s diminished interest in securing the Ukraine peace deal.

European officials want to revive the momentum seen in pre-Christmas talks aimed at reaching agreement between the United States and its Ukrainian and Russian counterparts around a 20-point peace plan that would end almost four years of conflict.

The “Coalition of Volunteers,” a group of countries that have said they are willing to provide post-war security guarantees and peacekeeping forces to Ukraine, will meet in the French capital to discuss elements of the peace plan agreed upon so far, as well as remaining obstacles to a deal, such as security guarantees for Ukraine and territorial concessions claimed by Moscow.

Russia rejects the idea of ​​European countries giving Kiev security guarantees or sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine and wants Ukraine to cede the eastern Donbas region to Moscow. Ukraine has said it is willing to give up its NATO membership ambitions but needs guarantees to prevent future Russian aggression.

There was already widespread concern in Europe that US President Donald Trump might lose interest in Ukraine and seek a peace agreement, given its volatile nature and his premonition of the end of the war, particularly whether Ukraine would emerge from the war with its territorial integrity intact.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner arrived at the Elysee Palace on Tuesday for talks that will also be attended by European leaders, senior European Commission officials and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. It is reported that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will not attend the meeting due to the crisis in Venezuela.

Commenting on the meeting in Paris, Emily Thornberry, chair of the UK Foreign Affairs Select Committee, told CNBC that America’s involvement was vital.

“Today’s meeting needs to be about the future of Ukraine, which is incredibly important, and we need American security guarantees because we don’t want to have peace here that will only last a few months and then have the Russians move into Ukraine and take over when we’re not looking anymore,” he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe.”

“The only way we can get a just and lasting peace is for Americans to get involved. We don’t want military intervention on the ground, we want a security guarantee that means something,” he added.

Analysts have warned that Trump’s take on Maduro does not bode well for Ukraine. This is not only because it distracts Washington, but also because it sends a message to Moscow that it is permissible to remove a rival national leader accused of a crime. Especially if this leader is considered to be within the geopolitical “sphere of influence” of a superpower.

Moscow frequently describes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “guilty” without providing evidence to support its accusations.