In the city of love, the meeting between Zelensky, Trump, and Macron revealed significant insights about the world stage.

In April 2019, images of the burning Notre-Dame Cathedral circulated around the globe. Now, five years later, the iconic cathedral has been successfully restored, and French authorities have turned its reopening ceremony into a truly grand event. They succeeded, as nearly fifty leaders and heads of government traveled to Paris last weekend, not to mention other celebrities.

However, the current President of the United States was notably absent from the French capital; instead, First Lady Jill Biden represented Washington at the ceremony. The newly elected President Trump and the outgoing First Lady, seated side by side, unexpectedly formed a complex American political family during the event. Interestingly, the main Republican became a highlight of the behind-the-scenes program. Much of the heightened attention to his figure was due to the fact that the trip to France marked his first overseas journey since winning the presidential election on November 5.

A number of leaders sought opportunities to meet with the soon-to-be Oval Office occupant and show their respect. For instance, Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili managed to catch Mr. Trump in the corridor; she is set to resign from her duties in a week but refuses to do so amidst a deep political crisis in her country to support the opposition. "An extensive discussion with Presidents Trump and Macron. Exposed the stolen elections and extremely troubling repression against the people of Georgia. The need for a strong USA was emphasized. The Georgian people have a friend in Donald Trump," wrote Ms. Zourabichvili, who is originally from France, on social media platform X.

Other high-ranking politicians attending the Notre-Dame reopening ceremony also attempted to establish contact with the Republican. However, the key and most covered meeting in the global media in Paris was the three-way talks between Volodymyr Zelensky, Donald Trump, and French leader Emmanuel Macron. According to the American portal Axios, this contact might not have happened initially, as Mr. Trump was reportedly reluctant to meet with the current occupant of Bankova Street. However, it is reported that Mr. Macron made every effort to persuade the future U.S. president to engage in a trilateral discussion, and he succeeded. One source from Axios emphasized that the talks, lasting about 45 minutes, went "well and productively."

Volodymyr Zelensky also described the meeting as "good and productive." He stated that "President Trump, as always, is determined." The current guarantor of the Ukrainian Constitution assured that all participants in the trilateral negotiations expressed a desire to end the conflict "as soon as possible and fairly," adding that the phrase "peace through strength" is more relevant now than ever.

It is quite telling that only the following day - on the morning of December 8 - Donald Trump commented on the meeting. On social media platform Truth Social, the Republican wrote that the now-former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "fled his country," and that "his patron Russia, led by Putin, is no longer interested in protecting him." In Mr. Trump's view, Moscow "has lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine." He asserted that this "war should never have started."

Separately, Donald Trump emphasized that "Zelensky and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop this madness," urging for an "immediate ceasefire and the start of negotiations." "Too many lives are being wasted, too many families are being destroyed, and if this continues, it could escalate into something much larger and much worse. I know Vladimir well. It's time to act. China can help. The world is waiting!" - stressed the old-new American leader. He also noted that Ukrainians "senselessly lost 400,000 soldiers and many more civilians." "Since the beginning of the full-scale war, Ukraine has lost 43,000 warriors who died on the battlefield," Volodymyr Zelensky promptly commented on Trump's statement. He clarified that during the war, assistance was provided to 370,000 wounded soldiers, half of whom are returning to duty. Based on these figures, the total number of deceased and wounded Ukrainian warriors could indeed be around 400,000.

As for Russia's losses, Trump commented, "about 600,000 Russian soldiers lie wounded or dead in a war that should never have started and could go on forever." According to Volodymyr Zelensky, "updated data on Russian losses exceeds 750,000 of their people. This includes 198,000 dead Russians and over 550,000 wounded."

"I said that we need a fair and strong world that the Russians won't destroy in a few years, as they have already done," Zelensky also shared about the results of the trilateral meeting in Paris. He mentioned Russia's influence on Georgia, attempts to influence Moldova, the long-standing presence of Russian forces in Syria, and the Russian footprint in Africa - "for destabilization purposes."

The Kremlin has already reacted to Trump's call regarding the Russian-Ukrainian war. Specifically, Putin's spokesperson Peskov, whose comments were published on the Kremlin's website, noted the following: "We carefully reviewed the statement made by elected President Donald Trump after his meeting in Paris with Macron and Zelensky. President Putin has repeatedly stated that Russia is open to negotiations on Ukraine and welcomes peace initiatives coming primarily from the Global South, our BRICS partners - China, India, Brazil, South Africa, as well as those working on humanitarian tracks from the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia." According to Peskov, Russia's position on Ukraine is "well known," and "the conditions for an immediate ceasefire were outlined by President Putin in June of this year."

In June, the Kremlin dictator stated that for the conflict to end, the Armed Forces of Ukraine must be completely withdrawn from the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions - "specifically from the entire territory of these regions within their administrative borders that existed at the time of their accession to Ukraine." Peskov also asserted that "Ukraine has refused and continues to refuse to negotiate," and "for Zelensky to embark on a peaceful trajectory, he simply needs to revoke his decree," issued in the fall of 2022, which prohibits negotiations with Putin. Additionally, the spokesperson for the international criminal Putin emphasized that the figures on losses presented by Donald Trump "are given in the Ukrainian interpretation," while "the actual loss figures are quite different."

It is known that Donald Trump has repeatedly promised to end the Russian-Ukrainian war within a day after he returns to the White House. In the summer of 2024, JD Vance, who was then just running for vice president, publicly articulated the conditions for a possible deal: recognition of Ukraine's territorial division, Ukraine's refusal to join NATO, and coercing it into neutrality. After the elections in the U.S., The Guardian speculated that with a 5-10% probability, the Republican might threaten to increase assistance to Kyiv to force Moscow to the negotiating table. Trump indicated the possibility of such a development in a recent interview with Fox.

In any case, Mr. Trump has yet to unveil a clear plan or officially make any proposals to either Kyiv or Moscow. Nevertheless, leaks in Western media suggest that all scenarios being developed by the future U.S. president's foreign policy team imply a cessation of hostilities along the front line and do not include the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the four regions, as demanded by the aggressor state.

As noted on the NV radio broadcast while commenting on the Paris meeting between Zelensky, Trump, and Macron, the head of the Institute of American Studies, analyst from Internews-Ukraine Vladislav Faraponov stated that it is a significant step forward, "immediately ten steps up" that Trump personally indicated Kyiv's readiness to end "this madness" here and now. According to the expert, this signal from the future American leader removes from the Kremlin's hands one of the most important trump cards, namely that it is allegedly our country that is stalling the peace negotiation process. However, as indicated by Peskov's statement, Moscow continues to "play the fool," blaming the victim of its unprovoked aggression for all mortal sins.