Other leaders, such as the president of Kazakhstan, Mr. Tokaïev, praised the political dialogue between Washington and Moscow.
Negotiations aimed at putting an end to the war in Ukraine should not lead to “a peace that is a capitulation” because it would be “bad news for everyone”, including the United States, said the president French Emmanuel Macron.
His comments follow the fallout from a one hour call between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Wednesday about any peace talks to end the war in Ukraine, the two men having agreed to meet soon.
In an interview with the Financial Times, the French president approved Mr. Trump’s position that Europe is responsible for ensuring Ukraine’s security.
“What Trump says to Europe is that it’s up to you to wear the burden. And I say that it’s up to us to assume it,” said Macron.
Mr. Macron said he was “not surprised” by the initiative of the American president, who created a “window of opportunity” for a negotiated solution in which “everyone must play their role”.
Europe should “build muscle” in defense to protect its own future and that of Ukraine after the “electroshock” of Mr. Trump’s return to the White House, added Macron.
“It’s time for Europe to accelerate and execute,” he said. “She has no choice. She has no way to make.”
The French president insisted that only Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky could speak of a cease-fire on behalf of his country.
Meanwhile, in Central Asia, where managers have balanced their historical links with Russia with anti-war messages, Kassym-Jomart Tokaïev, the president of Kazakhstan, told Euronews that his country wanted to see the end of the war.
“Ukraine remains a largely discussed subject. From the start, we pleaded for the end of the war and for obtaining a consensus and an agreement through diplomatic negotiations,” he declared.
“Today, our position becomes a reality, since two major powers have started a political dialogue. This is a positive development that will also benefit Kazakhstan. This is why we will support this process as much as possible .
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal in Paris on Thursday, US vice-president JD Vance added more nuances to the Trump-Putine call, saying that the United States would hit Moscow from sanctions and potential military action if Putin did not accept a peace agreement with Ukraine which guarantees the independence of kyiv in the long term.
“I think it will come out an agreement that will shock a lot of people,” said Vance.
Additional sources • Adaptation: Serge Duchêne
