US Secretary of State declines meeting with Kaja Kallas

TALLINN – United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has declined to hold bilateral talks with European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, Postimees reports, citing Politico.

According to two officials who spoke with Politico, Kallas has been kept out of the limelight during the current Ukraine peace talks, given her at times difficult relationship with the Donald Trump administration.

According to the sources, even Rubio, who is considered the most pro-European member of Trump's team, has not agreed to hold bilateral meetings with Kallas. However, as one source told Politico regarding Kallas: "She is active, playing the bad cop, managing member states behind the scenes."

European countries have privately expressed optimism that the Americans will not force a disadvantageous peace plan on Ukraine. "Things are moving as they should," said one diplomat, commenting on a process that saw an emergency meeting convened in Switzerland with the US side after a draft peace plan was leaked to the media last week. "It was a proposal not meant for public consumption; we talked about it, and now it is being amended," he added.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that from the moment a peace treaty comes into force, France, the United Kingdom, or Turkey would be prepared to send their soldiers to Ukraine as a peacekeeping force.

Macron noted that soldiers from a so-called "coalition of the willing" could be deployed to rear areas, such as Kyiv or Odesa, where they could provide security and assist in training the Ukrainian armed forces. According to Macron, sending soldiers to Ukraine would not happen within the NATO framework but as part of an intergovernmental coalition.

"We have about 20 countries that have already stated what they are prepared to do, whether by air, land, or sea," Macron said.

The French president added that the coalition could also create an air enforcement force that would be based outside Ukraine but would cooperate with the Ukrainian air force.