President Emmanuel Macron received Steve Witkoff, Special Envoy of President Trump, and Marco Rubio, United States Secretary of State, for a meeting followed by a working lunch on Thursday, April 17, 2025, at the Élysée Palace.
The meeting was attended by Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, and Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic advisor and G20/G7 Sherpa to the President of the Republic.
Joining the discussions were Keith Kellogg, Special Envoy of the United States; Jonathan Powell, National Security Advisor of the United Kingdom; Jens Plötner, National Security Advisor of the Federal Republic of Germany; Andriy Yermak, Chief of Staff to the President of Ukraine; Andriy Sybiha, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine; and Rustem Umerov, Minister of Defense of Ukraine.
This meeting provided an opportunity to talk about the peace negotiations aimed at ending Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
It followed President Macron’s conversations with President Trump and the work carried out within the coalition of willing countries, co-chaired by the United Kingdom and France, which met at the Élysée Palace on March 27.
The discussions also served as an occasion to address tariff issues as well as the situation in the Middle East, with a view to de-escalating tensions in the region.
