Russia must accept proposal for 30-day ceasefire: French President Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday (local time) called on Russia to accept the US-brokered proposal for an interim 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, emphasizing that "atrocities must stop."

Macron criticized Russia for its "delaying statements" on the proposed deal following his discussion with Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy and UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer.

"I spoke today with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and then with Prime Minister Kier Starmer following the progress made during the meeting between the United States and Ukraine in Jeddah on Tuesday. Russia must now accept the U.S.-Ukrainian proposal for a 30-day ceasefire. The Russian aggression in Ukraine must end. The atrocities must stop. So must the delaying statements," Macron wrote in a post on X.



Macron assured France's unwavering support to Ukraine to achieve peace and informed that all partners will hold a video conference today to discuss the issue.

"Tomorrow, we will continue working to strengthen support for Ukraine and to achieve a solid and lasting peace, in a videoconference with Prime Minister Starmer, President Zelensky, and all our partners," he added.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy said that he shared the results of the meeting between the Ukrainian and American delegations in Saudi Arabia with Macron. He reiterated Ukraine's support for the US proposal for an unconditional 30-day full interim ceasefire but warned against trusting Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"I shared the results of the meeting (with Macron) between the Ukrainian and American teams in Saudi Arabia. It was a very constructive discussion, during which Ukraine supported the U.S. proposal for an unconditional 30-day full interim ceasefire. Now we see how Russia is trying to set conditions for an unconditional ceasefire and wants to make the process shaky. Putin cannot be trusted. His reaction already shows that Moscow does not want peace or an end to the war," Zelenskyy said.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump said that he had "good and productive discussions" with Russian President Vladimir Putin and hinted that the Russia-Ukraine conflict could "finally come to an end."

However, on Thursday, Putin questioned the United States-brokered proposal for a ceasefire in the Ukraine war, setting forth tough conditions and demanding concessions from Kyiv despite saying he supported a truce in theory, CNN reported.

"We agree with the proposal to cease hostilities but we have to bear in mind that this ceasefire must be aimed at a long-lasting peace and it must look at the root causes of the crisis," Putin said at a news conference - repeating the Kremlin's previous claims that the current Ukrainian government is part of the underlying problem, as per CNN. (ANI)