PARIS, Mar 3 : France and Britain have proposed a one-month truce in Ukraine “in the air, on the seas, and in energy infrastructure”, President Emmanuel Macron of France told Le Figaro.
Ahead of the summit on Ukraine in London on Sunday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that Paris and London were working on a “plan” to stop the fighting.
President Macron explained that one advantage of such a truce is that “it can be measured” given the vast front, “equivalent to the Paris-Budapest line”, the Brussels Time reported
Initially, the cessation of hostilities would not include ground combat, as “it would be very difficult to verify that the front is respected” in the case of a ceasefire, Macron said.
The deployment of European troops, in which France and Britain are ready to participate, would come only at a later stage, he added.
“There will be no European troops on Ukrainian soil in the coming weeks,” Macron told Le Figaro. He stressed the need to use this time to negotiate a truce. “We want peace, but not at any price, without guarantees,” he said.
French officials are also trying to re-establish dialogue between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had a sharp confrontation in the Oval Office on Friday.
“In the coming days, we should manage to re-engage,” Macron said, after returning from the London summit.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his willingness on Sunday to sign the mineral agreement negotiated with the United States, delayed due to his altercation with Donald Trump on Friday.
“Once all parties are ready, the agreement on the table will be signed,” said Zelenskyy in an interview with British journalists before leaving London.
“If we agreed to sign the mineral agreement, then we are ready to sign it. We are constructive,” he added, following Washington’s suggestion that the Ukrainian leader might need to step down if he did not change his behaviour.
However, Zelenskyy stated on Sunday evening that replacing him would “not be so easy.” Speaking to the press in London, he emphasised that substantial support for him made a simple replacement difficult. He has consistently worn military fatigues since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2023.
Zelenskyy argued that removing him, as Moscow wishes, would require more than just organising elections; it would also necessitate preventing his candidacy, a much more complicated task.
He also mentioned seeking security guarantees for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire and reiterated his earlier offer to resign if Ukraine could join NATO.
“If NATO membership and an end to the war are achieved, I will have fulfilled my mission,” he stated on Sunday evening.
(UNI)
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