President Emmanuel Macron of France had invited the heads of state and government of over 30 European countries to Paris to discuss the next steps towards ensuring a just and sustainable peace for Ukraine as well as security for Europe. 

Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz took part in the talks, alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, European Council President António Costa, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky.

The key points from the statement:

• Aid for Ukraine is vital: Everyone agreed that Ukraine still needed support to enable the country to defend itself, said Scholz. A strong Ukrainian army was particularly important for ensuring a sustainable and just peace, he added, pointing out that Germany had increased its support to over seven billion euros this year, and would continue to provide this level of support.
• Urgently needed ceasefire: Scholz called on Russia to accept the Ukrainian President’s offer of a ceasefire. The negotiations conducted to date had, however, shown “that Russia is currently not interested in true peace,” he said.
• Keeping sanctions in place: Federal Chancellor Scholz rejects calls to end the sanctions imposed on Russia. He believes that given Russia’s actions, this would be “a serious mistake at this point,” and that sanctions had to continue and be developed further. Scholz urged for Europe and the USA to take a clear stance in this respect.

You can read a transcript of the press conference here (in German):