In a joint press conference with US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron warned that peace cannot mean the "surrender" of Ukraine and that Europe was ready to "step up" its defence commitments to build a long-lasting peace.
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.
"This peace cannot mean the surrender of Ukraine," Macron told a joint news conference on Monday.
Ukraine "fought over these past few years for its independence and for its sovereignty, but also for our collective security", Macron said. "I think that no one in this room wants to live in a world where it's the law of the strongest and international borders can be violated from one day to the next."
Macron said Trump had "good reason" to re-engage with Russian President Vladimir Putin but warned of Europe's own experience in negotiating after an earlier conflict in Ukraine a decade ago.
"In 2014, our predecessors negotiated peace with President Putin, but because of the lack of guarantees and especially security guarantees President Putin violated this peace," Macron said.
"So this is why being strong and having deterrence capacities is the only way to be sure it will be respected," he said.
Macron, who has mulled sending French troops to Ukraine to preserve any peace, said it was critical for the United States to offer "backup" for any European peacekeeping force.
"A lot of my European colleagues are ready to be engaged, but we do need this American backup, because this is part of the credibility of the security guarantees," he said.
A path forward
Trump and his predecessor Joe Biden have both ruled out sending US troops to Ukraine.
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.
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.
EU leaders in Ukraine to mark third anniversary of Russia’s invasion
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 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House in the next two weeks.
Trump expressed optimism that the US and Ukraine were nearing a deal that would give the US access to Ukraine's critical minerals to help repay the more than $180 billion (€174 billion) in American aid delivered to Kyiv since the start of the war in 2022.
"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, but he stressed earlier that Kyiv "must be involved" in talks to end the war.
Flexibility
Trump meanwhile added that Putin was ready to "accept" European troops deployed in Ukraine as guarantors of a deal to end fighting.
But the billionaire tycoon 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.
Macron warns Trump: ‘No weakness’ with Putin as France enters ‘new era’
At the United Nations, the United States sided with Russia twice on Monday, as Washington sought to avoid any condemnation of Moscow's 2022 invasion of its pro-Western neighbour.
For his part, Putin has been biding his time since his ice-breaking call with Trump less than two weeks ago.
Putin said in an interview with state television Monday that European countries can "participate" in talks to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, his first sign of flexibility on the issue.
Meanwhile, Zelensky called for peace "this year" as he met European leaders in Kyiv and said he would step down in exchange for peace with a guarantee that Ukraine could join NATO.
(with newswires)
