Macron Warns of Short-Term Peace Deal in Ukraine as Russia Shows No Willingness to End War

As allies rallied around Ukraine on the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion, French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday warned he is “very sceptical” about a peace deal in the short term as there is no willingness in Russia to end the war. At a meeting of the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ that he co-chairs, Macron said “there is no willingness on the Russian side to have peace”. In line with his hawkish approach on European security and foreign policy, Macron called for more support for Ukraine and pressured the European Union’s (EU) leaders to make sure the €90 billion loan to Ukraine is approved soon — Hungary’s far-right leader, Viktor Orban, has blocked the loan in the EU. Macron urged partners to ramp up pressures on Russia sanctions on Russia, including on its shadow fleet to “kill its business model”. Eight years after invading and occupying Ukraine’s Crimea province, Russia launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Even as Russian leader Vladimir Putin dubbed it a ‘special military operation’, the war aimed to overthrow Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government, instal a regime favourable to Russia, and reshape the Ukrainian national identity in line with his vision. Four years later, Russia occupies around 20 per cent of Ukraine and the conflict has become a grinding war of attrition and estimates suggest that casualties are on track to mount to 2 million this year — twice as many Russians killed and injured than Ukrainians. Macron echoed Zelenskyy and British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who chairs the Coalition of the Willing, and called for an all-round defeat of Russia. “I completely agree with you, Keir and Volodymyr. We have to make very clear now about first the recent successes on the ground, but at the same time the fact that militarily, economically, and strategically the Russians are being defeated at this very moment,” said Macron. As for the ongoing peace talks, Macron said it was good to have continuing dialogue but called on the leaders to be “lucid” about Russia’s willingness to agree to a peace agreement. On security guarantees, Macron said these are “being finalised” and they need to be “agreed on in concrete terms”. France and the United Kingdom have taken a lead in mustering a multinational force to enforce any peace deal agreed between Russia and Ukraine. While the specifics are not yet clear, any such force is likely to include ground troops and fighter planes with an American backstop. Iran is close to finalising a deal with China to purchase advanced CM-302 supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles, according to Reuters sources. The missile system would significantly boost Iran's naval targeting capabilities and is difficult to intercept, experts say. The potential deal could deepen military ties between China and Iran and complicate US efforts to limit Iran's missile and nuclear programs amid rising regional tensions. Get the latest stories delivered straight to your inbox.