Emmanuel Macron this Friday June 5 in Tivat, Montenegro, on the occasion of a summit between the European Union and the Balkan countries. (AFP / SAVO PRELEVIC)
The war in Ukraine is close to an impasse: kyiv is increasing strikes on Russian depots, oil refineries and pipelines, and Russian forces are no longer making progress in their conquest of the eastern part of Ukraine.
“It’s time.” French President Emmanuel Macron said this Friday, June 5, that it is time to
make peace in Ukraine and that Europeans can help
welcoming Volodymyr Zelensky’s initiative to invite Vladimir Putin to meet him.
“My wish is rather to look at the future and say how we arrive at
reorganize a dialogue to build a ceasefire and peace”,
he declared in Tivat, Montenegro, during a summit between the European Union and the Balkan countries. “And I think
it’s time,
given the evolution of the situation,” he said. The war in Ukraine is close to stalemate, and kyiv is increasing strikes on Russian depots, oil refineries and pipelines to deprive Moscow of one of its main sources of income. At the same time,
Russian forces are no longer making progress
in their conquest of the eastern part of Ukraine.
Under these conditions, the offer, briefly mentioned by the Americans, “to leave to Russia (…) all of Donbass (eastern Ukraine), is an offer that has never existed for the Ukrainians nor for the Europeans”, and
“this is an offer today that should no longer exist
taking into account the reality on the ground,” he stressed.
Resumption of dialogue with Moscow “being prepared”
The French president also judged that the letter sent by the Ukrainian president to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin was
“a good initiative”.
“I think that today it is Ukraine and Russia that can build both a ceasefire and a peace plan,” he said, and as the main contributors of aid to Ukraine,
“It’s the Europeans who can help.
In this context, it will, of course, be necessary for them to be at one time or another
at “the discussion table for a peace plan”,
at-il underlined.
He also indicated that he would meet President Zelensky with his German counterparts Friedrich Merz and British Keir Starmer “in a few days”, without giving further details. He also announced that he had
invited to Paris on the occasion of July 14
the countries contributing to the coalition of volunteers set up by London and Paris, to provide security guarantees to Ukraine. “We are also very keen to
structure discussions and exchanges with Russia
on what is our common interests”, also declared the French president, who had affirmed in February that
the resumption of this dialogue with Moscow was “being prepared”.
