Europe ignored Ukraine’s proposal for the continent to nominate a person responsible for Ukraine peace talks after the US made it clear that Europe would not be at the negotiating table.

“It should be a quickly made decision,” Ihor Zhovkva, the deputy head of Zelenskyy’s office, told Bloomberg on 18 February. “I hope right after the Paris meeting. We should act, not reflect.”

Zelenskyy likewise told reporters in Kyiv via video conference from the United Arab Emirates that Europe must have a representative

However, European officials have not come up with a name following the meeting in Paris while pledging to provide more help to Ukraine and emphasizing the need for real security guarantees to prevent Minsk 3.0.

Meanwhile, the US has commenced its talks with the Russian delegation in Saudi Arabia. The US State Department warned against viewing these talks as peace negotiations while retired US general Jeane Keane believes that the US is “testing the water” to see if Vladimir Putin is serious about wanting to the end the conflict as he continues to have “unrealistic” demands.