French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said that peace cannot mean the “surrender” of Ukraine, but added that talks with US President Donald Trump had shown a path forward despite fears of a transatlantic rift.
Meeting at the White House on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion, the two leaders said there was progress on the idea of sending peacekeepers to Ukraine, although Macron insisted on US security guarantees for Kyiv.
Their talks came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called for peace “this year” as he met European leaders in Kyiv — amid mounting fears that Trump is pivoting toward Russia’s stance.
Photo: AFP
Air raid sirens sounded across Ukraine early yesterday as authorities warned of a wide missile attack. They later reported that at least five people were wounded and multiple buildings were damaged.
Authorities in neighboring Poland said they scrambled military aircraft in response to the missile attack.
At the UN, the US sided with Russia twice on Monday, as Washington sought to avoid any condemnation of Moscow’s invasion of its pro-Western neighbor.
“This peace cannot mean the surrender of Ukraine,” Macron told a joint news conference with Trump.
Macron said Trump had “good reason” to re-engage with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but said it was critical for Washington to offer “backup” for any European peacekeeping force.
The French president said he would work with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is to visit the White House tomorrow, on a proposal to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine in the event of a deal.
“After speaking with President Trump, I fully believe there is a path forward,” Macron said.
The French president rushed to Washington after Trump sent shock waves around the world when he declared his readiness to resume diplomacy with Russia and hold talks to end the Ukraine war without Kyiv.
Trump’s embrace of Russia has sparked fears not only that it could spell the end of US support for Kyiv, but for the rest of Europe, too.
The US president on Monday said that he was confident of bringing an end to the war, and that he expected Zelenskiy at the White House in the next two weeks to sign a deal granting Washington access to Ukraine’s rare minerals.
“I think we could end it within weeks — if we’re smart. If we’re not smart, it will keep going,” Trump said earlier in the Oval Office alongside Macron.
Macron later agreed that a truce was possible in “weeks,” in an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier.
Trump said that Putin was ready to “accept” European troops deployed in Ukraine as guarantors of a deal to end fighting, but repeated his demands that Europe bears the burden for future support of Ukraine, and that the US recoups the billions of dollars in aid it has given Kyiv.
He also declined to call Putin a dictator — despite calling Zelenskiy one last week — or to comment on the UN resolutions.
For his part, Putin has been biding his time since his ice-breaking call with Trump less than two weeks ago.
Putin said in an interview with state television on Monday that European nations can “participate” in talks to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, his first sign of flexibility on the issue.
Sanctions-hit Moscow is meanwhile also eyeing the economic side, just as Trump is.
Putin on Monday said that US and Russian companies were “in touch” on joint economic projects — including strategic minerals in occupied Ukraine.
Trump and Putin are eyeing a possible meeting in the coming weeks in Saudi Arabia.
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