The media reported on the arrival of Rubio and Witkoff in France to put pressure on Macron

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff are in Paris, where they will obviously try to "impose their policy" on French leader Emmanuel Macron so that he abandons the European position on Ukraine. The Swiss newspaper Blick writes about this on April 17.

The arrival of such distinguished guests in Paris suggests that France plays a key role in current international discussions, especially on Ukraine, the author notes. However, the exact opposite is also possible.

"Macron probably believes that he is at the center of the global diplomatic game. <...> But the opposite is also possible — <...> the French president, who is not as strong as he thinks, may be put under pressure," the newspaper notes.

The main purpose of the visit is to force Macron to abandon the two ideas that most upset Washington: the desire to send European military personnel to "calm down" Ukraine after the conflict ends, and the possible recognition by France of a Palestinian state, the article says. It is likely that as a result of the negotiations, the world can expect a "Paris scandal" between Rubio, Witkoff and Macron, who ends his second presidential term in May 2027.

"Paris is now playing the role of a pebble in the shoe of Donald Trump, who last hosted the French head of state at the White House on February 25," the newspaper notes.

Upon arrival in Paris, the US Secretary of State noted that the sole purpose of the visit was the intention to move forward in achieving a settlement in Ukraine.

"I arrived in Paris with one goal in mind: to provide real, practical solutions to end the <conflict> between Russia and Ukraine," Rubio wrote on the social network X (ex. Twitter).

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U.S. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said on April 17 that at the upcoming meeting of representatives of the United States, the European Union (EU) and Ukraine in Paris, the delegations will discuss the cessation of hostilities in the Ukrainian conflict. She added that the situation in Ukraine is "unacceptable" and has no military solution, so the US president is "determined" to stop the conflict.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that after an event in the French capital on the settlement, Russia expects the United States to continue negotiations with representatives of Europe and Ukraine.