Macron warns Ukraine peace can't mean 'surrender'

WASHINGTON: French President Emmanuel Macron warned Monday that peace cannot mean the “surrender” of Ukraine, but said talks with US President Donald Trump had shown a path forward despite fears of a transatlantic rift.

Meeting at the White House on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion, the two leaders said there was progress on the idea of sending peacekeepers to Ukraine, although Macron insisted on US security guarantees for Kyiv.

Their talks came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for peace “this year” as he met European leaders in Kyiv — amid mounting fears that Trump is pivoting towards Russia’s stance.

Early Tuesday, air raid sirens sounded across Ukraine as authorities warned of a wide missile attack.

They later reported at least five people were wounded and multiple buildings were damaged.

Authorities in neighboring Poland said they scrambled military aircraft in response to the missile attack.

At the United Nations, the United States sided with Russia twice on Monday, as Washington sought to avoid any condemnation of Moscow’s invasion of its pro-West neighbor.

“This peace cannot mean the surrender of Ukraine,” Macron told a joint news conference with Trump.

Macron said Trump had “good reason” to re-engage with Russian President Vladimir Putin but said it was critical for Washington to offer “backup” for any European peacekeeping force.

The French president said he would work with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who visits the White House on Thursday, on a proposal to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine in the event of a deal.

“After speaking with President Trump, I fully believe there is a path forward,” said Macron.

‘End it within weeks’

The French president rushed to Washington after Trump sent shock waves around the world when he declared his readiness to resume diplomacy with Russia and hold talks to end the Ukraine war without Kyiv.

Trump’s recent embrace of Russia has sparked fears not only that it could spell the end of US support for Kyiv, but for the rest of Europe too.

The US president said Monday he was confident of bringing an end to the war, and that he expected Zelensky at the White House in the next two weeks to sign a deal granting Washington access to Ukraine’s rare minerals.

“I think we could end it within weeks — if we’re smart. If we’re not smart, it will keep going,” Trump said earlier in the Oval Office alongside Macron.

Macron later agreed that a truce was possible in “weeks,” in an interview with Fox News’s Bret Baier.

Trump meanwhile added that Putin was ready to “accept” European troops deployed in Ukraine as guarantors of a deal to end fighting.

But billionaire tycoon Trump repeated his demands that Europe bears the burden for future support of Ukraine, and that the US recoups the billions of dollars in aid it has given Kyiv.

He also declined to call Putin a dictator — despite calling Zelensky one last week — or to comment on the UN resolutions.