From Buenos Aires where he is traveling, the Head of State said he had “never ruled out” resuming talks with the Kremlin host but he will do so “when the context and conditions are suitable”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin “doesn’t want peace” with kyiv and “is not ready to negotiate”French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday, following a massive Russian attack on the Ukrainian energy network. After this offensive, “one of the most intense since the start of the conflict”, “I believe it is clear that President Putin’s intentions are to intensify (the) fighting”declared Emmanuel Macron in Buenos Aires.
“If we need to know what Mr. Putin's intentions are, what he has just done on the ground, let them be clear: whatever his declarations, he does not want peace and is not ready to negotiate it”he added. In this context“we must keep our commitments to the Ukrainians, that is to say, allow them to wage this war of resistance, deliver weapons, equipment”continued Emmanuel Macron, who spoke during a press point before leaving Argentina for Brazil, where he is due to take part in a G20 summit.
“Each leader is free to take initiatives”
Asked about the initiative of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who had a telephone exchange with Vladimir Putin on Friday – provoking the anger of kyiv – Emmanuel Macron replied that he was not “not here to comment”. “I think that each leader is completely free to take initiatives”he added. He himself did not “never excluded” to resume speaking with the guest of the Kremlin but he will “when the context and conditions are suitable”.
“With what is happening today, we must first equip, support and enable Ukraine to resist. This is the key to the coming days and weeks.”further assured Emmanuel Macron, for whom the allies of this country must promote “a peace that is not the capitulation of Ukraine.” For his part, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, also on his way to the G20, announced on Sunday that he had no “no intention of speaking” to Vladimir Putin and that it was necessary “redouble our efforts to strengthen” aid to Ukraine.
L’Ukraine “can count” on the European Union after the “horrible” Russian attacks which targeted its energy network and left ten dead, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, for his part, condemned Russian strikes on Sunday “unacceptable”.
The Ukrainian energy network, already very fragile, suffered this weekend one of the most significant Russian attacks in recent months. These strikes, which left 10 dead and around twenty injured, led the authorities to announce measures to restrict electricity consumption in all regions of Ukraine, starting Monday.
