The French leader said after meeting US President Donald Trump that a cease-fire with Russia was possible, but that he had to be accompanied by security guarantees.
French President Emmanuel Macron said it was “possible” to suggest that a truce between Russia and Ukraine could be concluded in the coming weeks.
Speaking on Fox News in Washington after interviews with US President Donald Trump, Macron added that leaders – including Trump himself – should nevertheless be “cautious” in their negotiations with Russia.
“In 2014, we had a ceasefire with Russia … He was violated each time,” said the tenant of the Élysée, adding that any truce agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin should be supported by security guarantees.
According to Donald Trump, the war between Russia and Ukraine could end “in a few weeks”; He insisted that Europe should assume the burden of a peacekeeping agreement.
The pressures exerted by the White House in favor of bilateral peace talks with Russia and its criticisms of the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which he called “as”dictator“, have led European leaders to fear that the United States will try to negotiate a cease-fire agreement unfavorable to Ukraine and give Moscow time to pull themselves together.
Emmanuel Macron positioned himself on the front line of efforts to guarantee a united European response to the change of tone of the new American administration, alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Both hinted that they would be open to sending peacekeeping troops to the region, a suggestion that Macron reiterated on Monday.
“Not to go on the front line, not to go to confrontation, but to be in certain places, defined by the treaty, as a presence to maintain this peace and our collective credibility, with the support of the United States”, said the French president.
At a joint press conference with his French counterpart, Trump said that The master of the Kremlin had accepted the presence of European peacekeeping forces in Ukrainewhile the Russian ambassador to the United Kingdom, Andreï Kelin, had rejected this idea, issued by Starmer, a few days before.
Negotiations to end the fighting should focus on security guarantees, land and territories, according to Macron.
Trump did not mention the security guarantees after their meeting, but said that the cost of the establishment of peace in Ukraine was to be covered by Europe and the United States.
Macron replied that Europe included the need to “share the burden of security more equitably”.
According to Macron, Trump’s presence had “changed the game” and admitted that he had “good reasons” to start talks with his Russian counterpart.
Trump said he would meet Putin at some point, while adding that he didn’t know when.
The American president also invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House in order to finalize an agreement of $ 500 billion (477 billion euros) on rare land minerals, which the Trump administration presented as the reimbursement by kyiv of billions of dollars in aid that Washington sent to this country torn apart by the war.
ADVERTISEMENTZelensky first insisted that Ukraine would not sign such an agreement, because the United States had not offered specific security guarantees in return.
On Sunday, however, the president of the Ukrainian parliament said that the government would begin to work seriously to reach an agreement with the Trump administration to allow the United States to access Ukraine mineral resources.
He maintained that any agreement should include security guarantees for Ukraine from Washington.
Additional sources • Adaptation: Serge Duchêne
