"We must fight for the United States". Zelenskyy responds to Macron's words about direct contact with Russia
Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Putin during the Normandy format summit in December 2019 (Photo: LUDOVIC MARIN/EPA)

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told what he told his French colleague Emmanuel Macron about the need to "fight" for the participation of the United States in peace talks to end the Russian war. The Ukrainian leader said this during a conversation with journalists.

The head of state was asked whether Macron had discussed with him plans for a direct European dialogue with Russia and whether he would support it.

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Zelenskyy acknowledged that Macron had raised the question of what the partners would do if America failed to stop Russia.

"I told him, and I'm repeating it again frankly, that we have to fight for the United States. We have to fight for the format when we are with all our allies, with America as a mediator and with European allies who support us. I think this is a strong alliance, and we have to fight for it," the president said.

If this does not work out, "of course, everyone will think about other options and another format," the head of state said.

He emphasized, however, that "we still have to fight" for the current format of the talks.

Earlier, on December 19, the French president said: "Either during the ongoing negotiations either a lasting peace will be achieved, or we will find ways to resume the European dialogue with Russia in a transparent and cooperative manner with Ukraine. Then it will again be useful to talk to Vladimir Putin".

Spokesman for the Russian dictator Dmitry Peskov later reported that Putin was allegedly ready to engage in a dialog with Macron.

  • The last time the French president and the Russian dictator spoke was in July 2025, when their call lasted more than two hours, and one of its topics was the Russian-Ukrainian war. It was their first conversation since 2022.
  • Interlocutor LIGA.net in the Office of the Ukrainian president reported that after this call, Macron contacted Zelenskyy to inform him about the conversation.
  • Bloomberg's sources said that during a call with the French president, Putin rejected the idea of a ceasefire.