Paris, Feb 23 (EFE).- French President Emmanuel Macron is heading to Washington, where he will meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday.
Macron is expected to tell Trump that he must pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a genuine peace deal with Ukraine rather than a mere ceasefire like the Minsk agreements, which Moscow repeatedly violated.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, accompanying Macron on the trip, insisted Sunday that any resolution must be a “real peace agreement” and not just a temporary truce.
Barrot recalled that the Minsk agreements, signed a decade ago under the mediation of and , were breached by Moscow “20 times,” ultimately leading to the 2022 invasion that triggered the ongoing war.
Beyond Trump’s role in pushing Putin toward negotiations, Barrot stressed that only Ukrainians can decide to lay down their arms, and they will do so “only if convinced that the war will truly end.”
He added that this requires security guarantees that “only the Europeans can provide.”
While declining to discuss the possibility of sending interposition troops, Barrot acknowledged that such deployments have helped resolve past conflicts and could be an option if Russia eventually agrees.
Barrot avoided direct comment regarding rising tensions between the US and Ukraine, following Trump’s repeated hostile remarks about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he recently labeled a “dictator.”
“Volodymyr Zelenskyy is not a dictator,” he said.
He countered Trump’s criticism by emphasizing that “everyone in Ukraine wants normalcy and elections, but in a war where parts of the country are occupied, how can democracy function as usual?”
Macron arrives in Washington after holding two high-level meetings this week with EU leaders, the UK, Norway, Iceland, and Canada to discuss the US’s shifting stance on Ukraine and its recent diplomatic overtures toward Russia.
His key message to Trump will be that any peace deal must involve Ukraine at the negotiating table, with Europe also playing a central role, as European nations will be the ones providing security guarantees and because their own security is at stake.
Macron hopes to leverage the “closeness and frankness” he has built with Trump since his first term in the White House, Barrot said. EFE
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