Russia 'must' agree to ceasefire terms, says Macron
French President Emmanuel Macron has stated that Russia needs to agree to the suggested 30-day ceasefire arrangement. .

French President Emmanuel Macron emphasized that Moscow must accept the 30-day ceasefire deal put forward by the US and cease making “delaying statements.”
Following discussions in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, Kiev agreed to the truce, and Washington resumed sharing intelligence and sending arms to Ukraine. Notably, no EU member states participated in the talks.
On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that Russia is open to discussing a ceasefire, but he indicated that the terms must be clarified to ensure a stable and lasting peace.
After meetings with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Ukraine’s President Vladimir Zelensky on Friday, Macron reiterated his call for Moscow to accept the proposed ceasefire.
“Russia must now accept the US-Ukrainian proposal for a 30-day ceasefire,” he posted on X, noting his intention to continue rallying support for Kiev in the future.
In tandem, the UK called for an unconditional ceasefire from Moscow.
“Now is the time for a ceasefire with no conditions. Ukraine has set their position out. It is now for Russia to accept it,” UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy stated in a press comment on Friday.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev dismissed the UK’s demands.
“Britain and its minister can shove their idea back up the sh*thole it came from, diplomatically speaking,” remarked Medvedev, who is now deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, in a post on X.
Russia has criticized the increasingly aggressive rhetoric from European leaders regarding increased militarization as the battlefield dynamics appear to be shifting in Moscow's favor.
Moscow contends that the ongoing military assistance to Ukraine from Western states transforms the conflict into a proxy war led by NATO against Russia.
In response to proposals from Britain and France to send peacekeeping forces to Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov labeled these suggestions as “outright hostile” to Russia.
Lavrov warned that any troops from the US-led military alliance, even under the pretext of peacekeeping, would signify “direct, official, undisguised involvement of NATO countries in the war against Russia.”
Emily Johnson for TROIB News