ISTANBUL

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday met French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in Paris, where he arrived to attend a leaders-level "coalition of the willing" summit on Ukraine peace.

"Diplomacy and real assistance must go hand in hand," Zelenskyy said in a statement on US social media company X following the talks.

He emphasized the urgent need to bolster air defense to protect civilians and critical infrastructure from Russian strikes, and that "every delivery of air defense missiles saves lives and boosts the chances for diplomacy."

Zelenskyy described the discussion with Macron as "substantive" regarding Ukraine's defense capabilities and "important political steps" being prepared for the summit.

"That is why every meeting must yield concrete results – new decisions regarding air defense, new assistance packages, and new capabilities to protect the skies," he said, thanking Macron for his leadership.

The meeting took place ahead of a leaders-level summit of the grouping of 35 countries, led by the UK and France, that have supported Ukraine and are willing to deploy troops in the event of a ceasefire with Russia.

Zelenskyy said the meeting in Paris is "the most representative meeting of the Coalition of the Willing," attended by heads of state, leaders of international organizations, ministers, and ambassadors.

The summit is expected to address the latest state of talks aimed at achieving peace in Ukraine, developments in draft peace plans, and the role to be played by the coalition in providing security guarantees for Ukraine. The US delegation is represented by special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Over the weekend, national security advisers from 15 countries, as well as representatives from NATO and the EU, held a meeting in Kyiv.

Earlier Tuesday, Chief of the French Defense Staff Fabien Mandon wrote on the US social media company X that he took part in a meeting of chiefs of general staff in Paris, and discussed "security guarantees for Ukraine and the modalities of their implementation."