Direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in response to an unconditional ceasefire demanded by Kiev and its allies, are a first step but not enough, French President Emmanuel Macron said.
"An unconditional ceasefire is not preceded by negotiations, by definition," he told reporters as he got off a train in the Polish city of Przemysl, after returning from a trip to Ukraine.
He said the counter-proposal shows that Putin is "looking for a way forward, but still wants to buy time." Asked if it was a delaying tactic, something he has repeatedly accused Russia of, he replied: "Yes, yes, that's one of them."
Macron was in Kiev on Saturday with British, German and Polish leaders, as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The politicians issued an ultimatum to Moscow - accept an "unconditional and complete" 30-day ceasefire starting Monday or face new "massive sanctions."
European leaders said they were acting in concert with Donald Trump's United States.
Trump: Potentially a great day for Russia and Ukraine
The US president reiterated this morning that he intends to "continue to work with both sides" to end the conflict in Ukraine, hailing a "potentially great day" after Putin's proposal for "direct" negotiations between Kiev and Moscow and calling on the West to call for a ceasefire as early as Monday.
"A potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine," the US president wrote on Truth Social, without specifying what he was referring to. "Think of the hundreds of thousands of lives that will be saved with the hope of an end to this endless 'bloodbath'. (...) I will continue to work with both sides to ensure that happens," Trump added.
Last night, while the French president was on a train with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on his return, Putin proposed to Ukraine "negotiations without any preconditions," "starting next Thursday" in Istanbul. He postponed the issue of a ceasefire for those possible talks.
Macron: Putin's proposal is unacceptable to Ukrainians
"It's a way of avoiding an answer," Macron said, according to Hina.
According to him, the Russian president could not simply reject the Western proposal with Ukraine, because that would put him "on the wrong side." "It is also a way to show that he is committed and to try to maintain ambiguity with the United States," he said.
"He proposed something else, so I think we have to stand firm with the Americans and say that the ceasefire is unconditional, and then we can talk about the rest," he added. "Moreover, I think it is unacceptable for the Ukrainians, because they cannot accept parallel talks while they are still being bombed," Macron insisted.
He also believes that holding negotiations in Istanbul is not necessarily acceptable to Zelensky, given the "complicated" circumstance that Russian-Ukrainian talks had already been held shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 in that Turkish city without bearing fruit.
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