Macron hints Ukraine ceasefire could be just weeks away
French President Emmanuel Macron stated that a truce between Ukraine and Russia might be reached in the next few weeks.
He was speaking to Fox News in Washington after meeting with President Trump at the White House on the third anniversary of Russia's incursion.
The US president, who said the war might end "within weeks," insisted that Europe bear the cost and weight of any peacekeeping agreement for Ukraine.
Macron stated that any peace agreement in Ukraine must "not be a surrender of Ukraine" and be accompanied by security assurances.
The coming of Trump for a second term in the White House was a "game changer," the French president stated.
He stated that he believed it was "feasible" to discuss a war truce and the beginning of negotiations for a long-term peace in the coming weeks.
Macron stated that he had spoken with 30 other European leaders and allies, many of whom were eager to provide security guarantees for Ukraine.
He claimed he was working with British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on a plan to send troops to the region.
"Not to go to the front line, not to go in confrontation, but to be in some locations, being defined by the treaty, as a presence to maintain this peace and our collective credibility with the US backup," Mr. Macron added.
Negotiations to halt the violence, he continued, will involve "security guarantees, land and territories".
One of the greatest ways to secure the US commitment to Ukrainian sovereignty, he said, would be to reach an agreement on essential minerals, which Washington and Kyiv are presently negotiating.
The UN Security Council adopted a resolution sponsored by the United States that took a neutral posture on the crisis, indicating Washington's change on the international scene. Russia supported it, but France and the United Kingdom abstained.
At a joint news conference following his meeting with Macron on Monday, Trump did not mention security guarantees but said the cost and weight of maintaining peace in Ukraine must be paid for by European nations rather than just the United States.
Macron answered that Europe recognized the need to "more fairly share the security burden" and that Monday's meetings demonstrated a way ahead.
Trump stated that he wanted a cease-fire as quickly as possible and that he would travel to Russia to talk with President Vladimir Putin once one was agreed upon.
Macron, on the other hand, advocated for a more deliberate approach that included a cease-fire followed by a broader peace treaty that included explicit guarantees for Ukraine's long-term security.
"We want peace swiftly but we don't want an agreement that is weak," according to him.
The two did, however, agree that any peace agreement should include the deployment of European peacekeeping troops in Ukraine. Russia flatly rejected that suggestion.
"They wouldn't be on the front lines. They would not take part in any conflict. "They will be there to ensure that the peace is respected," Macron stated in the Oval Office.
Trump then stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin would accept that. I specifically asked him that question. "He has no problem with it," he stated.
The French president applauded Trump's recent efforts to interact with Putin, saying he had a "good reason" to do so.
Trump avoided referring to Putin as a "dictator" after using the term last week to describe Ukraine's ruler.
"I don't know when we'll speak," Trump remarked. "At some point I'll be meeting with President Putin."
He also invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House to finalize an agreement to share some of the country's natural riches. "He may come in this week or next week," Trump remarked. "I'd love to meet him."
While there were no apparent disagreements between Trump and Macron, the French president interrupted his American counterpart in the Oval Office to refute his claim that all EU help to Ukraine was in the form of loans.
"No, to be honest, we paid." "We paid 60% of the total effort," Macron stated.
"If you believe that, that's fine with me," Trump responded.
Zelensky remarked at an event with world delegates in Kyiv that "we hope that we can finish this war this year".
Other leaders, including those from the UK, Germany, and Japan, spoke via video link. There was no US representation.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke about the recently improved relations between Moscow and Washington.
"Russia may have gained an open ear in the White House but they have not gained an inch of legitimacy," he explained.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, urged delegates, "We must accelerate the delivery of weapons and ammunition."
She stated that the war remained "the most central and consequential crisis for Europe's future".
US Aligns with Russia at UN
On Monday, the United States backed with Russia twice in UN votes on the Ukraine conflict.
The two countries initially opposed a European-drafted resolution criticizing Moscow's actions and backing Ukraine's territorial integrity, which was subsequently adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
The European resolution received 93 votes in the UN General Assembly, but the United governments voted against it, along with Russia, Israel, North Korea, Sudan, Belarus, Hungary, and 11 other governments.
The United States and Russia then supported a US-drafted resolution at the UN Security Council calling for an end to the violence but including no censure of Russia.
The Security Council resolution was passed, but two important US allies, the United Kingdom and France, abstained in the vote after their attempts to change the wording were rejected.
Meanwhile, the EU and UK imposed more sanctions on Russia on Monday. The EU sanctions, the 16th round since Russia's invasion, are aimed at Russia's aluminum exports and its "shadow fleet" of ships, which are said to be used to circumvent sanctions.
The UK sanctions target machine tools and electronics used by Russia's military, as well as North Korea's defense minister, who is accused of sending more than 11,000 soldiers to Russia to help in the war effort.