Macron: Kyiv will decide when and how to talk with russia
Photo: AFP
French President Emmanuel Macron considers it necessary to hold peace talks between Ukraine and russia, but only on Kyiv's terms and when it is convenient.
Macron said this during a press conference in Egypt at the COP27 summit, broadcast on TF1 INFO.
Macron stressed that Ukraine must "at some point" resume negotiations to end the war.
"For my part, as before, I am convinced and assume that even now, at some point, we will have to return to the negotiating table," the French president said.
Macron emphasized that a particular condition must be met for negotiations.
He says that one way or another, the moment will come when russia and Ukraine will have to return to the negotiating table.
The French president said that everyone wants a return to peace. But it is up to Ukraine to determine the conditions and time when it wants to return to the negotiating table.
This should be "done within the framework of the terms and conditions to be chosen by Ukraine," he emphasized.
The French leader also noted that putting forward extreme negotiation conditions would be hasty given the "high tension on the ground."
He mentioned, in particular, the power and water cuts that Ukrainians faced in connection with the russian strikes.
"The current context does not allow us to give operational clarifications in this regard," Emmanuel Macron added.
As Rubryka wrote, the Washington Post, citing its sources, reported that the White House is allegedly calling on Kyiv to demonstrate readiness for negotiations with russia in private.
Mykhailo Podolyak, the adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, reminded that Ukraine has never completely refused negotiations with russia but has a clear condition: the withdrawal of russian forces from the territory of Ukraine.
