French President Emmanuel Macron, during his visit to Washington, said on Monday that a ceasefire in Ukraine is possible within a few weeks, Agence France-Presse reported, quoted by BTA.
Macron said this exactly three years after the invasion of Russian forces in Ukraine.
"The scheme is as follows: negotiations between the US and Russia and between the US and Ukraine", Macron said in an interview with "Fox News" television, welcoming US President Donald Trump's statement that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could visit the White House soon.
"First, a ceasefire is needed. I think this can be achieved in the coming weeks," the French leader said.
"If the ceasefire is not respected, this will be the best proof that Russia is not serious," Emmanuel Macron also said.
Macron called on the United States to demonstrate solidarity with Europe if the fighting in Ukraine stops.
The French president said he had spoken with 30 European leaders and European allies, most of whom were open to an agreement.
Trump and Macron demonstrated very different approaches to Ukraine, thus highlighting the differences between the United States and Europe in relation to Trump's efforts to quickly reach a ceasefire deal with Russia, Reuters summarizes, quoted by BTA.
During their meeting, Trump and Macron behaved amicably with each other, wanting to show with that they have had good relations for years.
Macron, however, made clear his disagreement with Trump on some key issues on the third anniversary of the Russian forces' invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Trump refused to call Russian President Vladimir Putin a dictator, after using that qualification last week to refer to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Macron said it was clear that Russia "is the aggressor" in the conflict.
"President Putin has broken the peace," Emmanuel Macron said at a joint press conference with Donald Trump.
Trump expressed his desire to achieve a ceasefire as soon as possible and said he was trying to negotiate this between Ukraine and Russia. The US president said he could visit Moscow to meet with Putin once a deal is reached.
Macron called for a more considered approach, including first a ceasefire and then a peace agreement that would include security guarantees.
"We want peace, he wants peace. We want peace quickly, but we don't want a weak agreement," Macron told reporters, explaining that any peace agreement would have to be "assessed, verified and confirmed".
However, the two leaders agreed that European peacekeeping forces could be deployed in Ukraine once a peace agreement is reached.
"They will not be on the front lines. They will not be involved in any conflict. They will be there to ensure the peace," Macron said earlier during his conversation with Trump in the Oval Office of the White House.
Trump said he agreed with the idea and that Putin would agree as well.
"Yes, he will accept it. I specifically asked him that question. He has no problem with it," Trump said of Putin's willingness to agree to the deployment of peacekeeping forces.
Macron, who became the first European leader to visit Trump since his return to the White House, called his conversation with the US president a "turning point" in seeking a more unified approach.
When asked if Ukraine would have to cede some of its territory to Russia, Trump said: "well, we'll see".
Macron said Ukraine's sovereignty must be guaranteed in any agreements.
Trump will meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer later this week.