French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed in his statements yesterday, Sunday, following a video meeting with the "Alliance of the Willing" supporting Ukraine, that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not seeking peace with Ukraine, but only wants Kyiv's surrender.
Macron firmly stated: "Do I believe that Putin wants peace? The answer is definitely no, he wants Ukraine's surrender."
Macron added that the peace he aspires to is a solid and lasting peace that respects international law and the sovereignty of all nations and their territorial integrity, emphasizing the need to form a united front between Europeans and Ukrainians to achieve this.
In a preparatory step for an upcoming meeting in Washington between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, Macron pointed out that Trump is also seeking peace between Russia and Ukraine, but warned that the security guarantees proposed by Trump for Ukraine—protection similar to NATO's treaty without full membership—may not be sufficient in reality, affirming that "the issue is the essence, not just the theory."
Macron also stressed that any discussion about Ukrainian territories or Europe's security cannot take place without the participation of Ukrainians, calling for the inclusion of Europeans in any future summit addressing the Ukrainian file, and said: "We will go to Washington to defend the interests of Europeans, not just to accompany the Ukrainian president."
For her part, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova responded to Macron's statements, describing them as "lies."
She confirmed via Telegram that Moscow has offered a "peaceful settlement" over the past seven years according to the Minsk agreements that were concluded after Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the escalation of the conflict in Eastern Ukraine between Kyiv and Russian-backed separatists.
Zakharova also criticized Macron for hinting at the possibility of "victory on the battlefield" despite knowing that this would not be achieved, accusing him of supplying Ukraine with more weapons and giving it "false promises" that complicate the crisis further.