Macron: Trump plans to talk to Russia about negotiations, Ukraine awaits Moscow's response
US President Donald Trump is going to talk to the Russian side about the negotiations in Istanbul, and the Ukrainian delegation expects a response from Russian representatives "in the next few hours." French President Emmanuel Macron announced this on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit in Albania, Le Monde newspaper reports.
According to the politician, after the negotiations in Istanbul between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, "the only concrete proposal that has been made remains relevant [...] and is an unconditional ceasefire."
Traditionally, Macron noted that Europe continues to prepare new sanctions in coordination with the United States, in case there is no "positive response" from Russia.
The French President said that the Ukrainian delegation expects to receive "answers to the requests made" to the Russians "in the coming hours," and announced that the Europeans, for their part, will hold further negotiations with Trump.
The Head of State "intends to exchange [opinions] with the Russian side to find out what happened (in the negotiations. – Ed.)," Macron added, mentioning possible "telephone contacts" primarily with dictator Vladimir Putin.
Quoting the French president, BFMTV said Trump wants to talk to Moscow about the talks "in the coming hours or days" to "find out what happened and try to move forward."
- During the summit in Albania, President Zelenskyy and European leaders had a phone conversation with Trump.
After the call, Zelenskyy emphasized that pressure on Russia must be maintained until Moscow is ready to end the war.
- According to Macron, in a conversation with the US president, he emphasized that Russia had ignored US demands for negotiations and a ceasefire.