Emmanuel Macron has said he doesn’t believe Russian President Vladimir Putin is “very willing to get peace” in Ukraine.
The French President revealed his scepticism in an interview with NBC News on Monday, after high-stakes talks were held at the White House.
“When I look at the situation and the facts, I don’t see President Putin very willing to get peace now,” Macron told the news outlet, “But perhaps I’m too pessimistic.”
He noted Trump’s optimism in achieving a peace deal, which he believes needs to be taken seriously — and that European leaders will do whatever they can to support him in this.
President Macron also said the United States must apply greater pressure to Russia and Putin to find a resolution, including increasing primary and secondary sanctions.
He described Russia as “the aggressor” in the conflict — the “country which decided to ill people, stole children and who refused a ceasefire and peace”.
“We cannot just create an equivalent situation between Ukraine and Russia,” he explained.
The French President said Ukraine must be given security guarantees to prevent future attacks from Russia which could prolong the conflict and that there should not be any land-swapping, as previously suggested by Trump.
When asked about the possibility of a ceasefire, Macron remained hopeful, noting how Russia continued its attacks in Ukraine as the delegation of world leaders were in the US.
The US President said he spoke directly with Vladimir Putin following the talks to begin planning a meeting between the Russian leader and Mr Zelensky, which will then be followed by a three-way meeting involving himself.
Posting on his Truth Social platform after the meeting, Trump described the talks as “very good”, adding: “During the meeting we discussed security guarantees for Ukraine, which guarantees would be provided by the various European countries, with a coordination with the United States of America.
“Everyone is happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia/Ukraine.
“At the conclusion of the meetings, I called president Putin and began arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between president Putin and president Zelensky.
“After the meeting takes place, we will have a trilat which would be the two presidents plus myself.”
Before the White House talks, the US president said he would “probably” be able to find common ground with the leaders on a plan to ward off future attacks on Ukraine.
He previously met with Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday, where he declared there was “no deal until there’s a deal” to end more than three years of fighting in eastern Europe.
“The Alaska summit reinforced my belief that while difficult, peace is within reach and I believe, in a very significant step, President Putin agreed that Russia would accept security guarantees for Ukraine,” Trump said on Monday.
“And this is one of the key points that we need to consider.”
He later said: “We also need to discuss the possible exchanges of territory taken into consideration the current line of contact.”
