Europe, Ukraine hail rare talks with US

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday hailed rare talks involving top US, European and Ukrainian officials as a "very important occasion for convergence" as Kyiv's allies seek to rekindle stalled ceasefire efforts amid transatlantic tensions.

The talks involving US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US envoy Steve Witkoff come as Donald Trump's push to end three years of fighting has not borne fruit so far and after Russian leader Vladimir Putin refused to agree to a complete truce despite multiple efforts to engage him.

"This is a very important occasion for convergence," Macron said in English after hosting Rubio and Witkoff for lunch earlier in the day.

"I think everybody wants to get peace for sure, and a robust and sustainable peace," Macron said.

The meetings in Paris took place just days after Witkoff met Putin.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff Andriy Yermak, Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov were also in Paris to talk with European and US delegations.

Britain and Germany's national security advisors were also in Paris, the French presidency said.

Macron has taken the lead in seeking to forge a coordinated European response to defending Ukraine, both during the current conflict and in its eventual aftermath, after Trump shocked the world by opening direct talks with Russia.

Russia's strikes, which have recently killed dozens of people including children in Ukraine's cities of Sumy and Kryvyi Rig, show how the war is taking a hefty toll despite a series of diplomatic efforts.

"Arrived in Paris with one goal in mind: secure real, practical solutions to end the Russia-Ukraine war," Rubio said on X.