French President Emmanuel Macron on February 24 said that a truce between Ukraine and Russia could be agreed “in the weeks to come” but also warned that peace cannot mean the “surrender” of Ukraine.
Macron spoke in an interview with U.S. broadcaster Fox News following a meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House on the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Trump said earlier in the Oval Office that the war could end soon.
“I think we could end it within weeks if we’re smart. If we’re not smart, it will keep going,” Trump said alongside Macron after welcoming him to the White House.
Macron said he has spoken with European leaders and many of them are ready to provide security guarantees, a key demand of Ukraine in any peace deal.
Both Macron and Trump said there had been progress on the idea of sending peacekeepers to Ukraine, although Macron insisted that the U.S. join Europe in the pledge, saying it would be critical for Washington to offer “backup” for any European peacekeeping force.
Trump claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to “accept” European troops deployed in Ukraine as guarantors of a deal to end fighting.
“I have specifically asked him that question. He has no problem it,” Trump said, when asked by a reporter about Putin’s position on the matter.
The French leader said any European forces sent to Ukraine would be there to “maintain peace” and would not be placed along the front lines or become part of the conflict.
Macron said he would work with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is scheduled to visit the White House on February 27, 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.
Macron told journalists that the war had cost a lot of money and that it was the “responsibility of Russia because the aggressor is Russia.” The statement contrasted with Trump’s comment last week in which he suggested that Ukraine started the war.
Trump said he expected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House in the next two weeks to sign a deal granting Washington access to Ukraine’s rare minerals.
In response to a reporter’s question, the American president declined to call Putin a dictator despite using the word to describe Zelenskyy last week.
Zelenskyy, who has said he would step down in exchange for peace with a guarantee that Ukraine could join NATO, called on February 24 for a “real, lasting peace” this year.
Putin on February 24 indicated a shift in his stance, saying in an interview with state television that European countries can “participate” in talks to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. He also said that U.S. and Russian companies were “in touch” on joint economic projects — including strategic minerals in occupied Ukraine.
Trump said his team is “constantly” speaking with the Russians, including about potential U.S.-Russian business deals, representing a shocking change in U.S. policy.
“My administration is making a decisive break with the foreign policy values of the past administration, and frankly the past,” said Trump, who has demanded the United States be paid back for the billions of dollars in aid it has given Kyiv.
The Biden administration’s strategy was to isolate Russia politically and economically, disengaging from communication and imposing sweeping sanctions on the country following its invasion of Ukraine.
