April 16 (UPI) —
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff are in France to meet with European officials and discuss potential ways to bring an end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
They will be in Paris from Wednesday until Friday “to further President Trump’s aim of ending the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and halting the violence,” according to State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce.
said in a statement
.
She said Rubio also will “discuss ways to advance shared interests in the region.”
Politico Europe
It was reported that Witkoff will have a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, and Rubio will meet with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.
On Friday, Witkoff had an extensive meeting lasting nearly five hours with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg to discuss ceasing hostilities with Ukraine.
Witkoff told F
ox News on Monday
This peace agreement revolves around what are referred to as the five territories. However, there’s far more significance to it. It seems like we could be on the brink of an event that holds great importance for the entire globe.
The regions appearing to be under discussion include Crimea, which was unlawfully annexed by Russia in 2014, as well as the partly occupied areas of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts.
If there is a truce, the French president wants Ukraine to receive security guarantees, including the deployment of a so-called reassurance force in Ukraine.
The force is backed by a “coalition of the willing” involving some 30 countries, six of which voiced
readiness
to commit their troops.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that he does not support that notion.
“These are non-negotiable points — we cannot acknowledge any temporarily occupied territories as anything but part of Ukraine,” stated Zelensky.
during a news conference
with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Odesa. “Once more, the participants are engaging in discussions about matters outside their jurisdiction.”
According to sources cited by Politico, discussions regarding Iran along with trade relationships amid Trump’s tariff warnings are set to take place.
Trump has imposed a 10% tariff on most trading partners but paused for 90 days a reciprocal one of 20% on the worst offenders, including the 27 European Union nations.
Subsequently, Rubio plans to visit Africa.
Additionally on Wednesday, Rubio declared the shutdown of the State Department’s unit responsible for combating foreign disinformation.
Each government official must consistently strive to safeguard and maintain Americans’ ability to express their free speech without interference.
He stated in an announcement
That’s why today I’m announcing the shutdown of the State Department’s Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference unit (R/FIMI), which was previously called the Global Engagement Center (GEC).
During the prior administration, this office “consumed over $50 million annually from taxpayer funds and used significant resources to suppress and silence the American citizens it was meant to serve. Such actions contradict our core values and seem unimaginable within our country.”
The financing for the center was removed from the final governmental funding agreement that President Joe Biden signed into law in December.
Last year, Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee claimed that conservative viewpoints were being suppressed to address disinformation and misinformation online. Now heading what’s called the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk stated in 2023 that this department aimed to improve governmental operations.
the biggest culprit in U.S. government censorship
.”
Senators Chris Murphy from Connecticut, who belongs to the Democratic Party, and John Cornyn from Texas, representing the Republican Party, stated that this particular office has an essential function in countering misinformation spread by Russia and China.
