Trump, Macron talk ceasefire as Ukraine marks 3 years of war – DW – 02/24/2025

US President Donald Trump said talks with French President Emmanuel Macron centered on ending the war in Ukraine “ravaging European soil.”

The two leaders struck a cooperative tone, coming more than a week after Trump reaching out unilaterally to Russia on ceasefire talks put European allies on edge, and threw transatlantic unity on opposing Russia in disarray. 

“It’s time to end this bloodletting and restore peace … Our focus is on achieving a ceasefire and a lasting peace,” Trump told a press conference at the White House after meeting with Macron. 

While Trump’s remarks focused on the destruction Ukraine has suffered over three years of war, the US president avoided holding Russia and President Vladimir Putin responsible for launching the invasion.

Trump added that Macron agreed that the “cost and burden of security must be borne by Europe and not the United States alone.”

“I have spoken with both president Putin and Zelenskyy and a lot of good things towards peace are happening,” Trump added. 

“It looks like we’re getting very close,” Trump had told reporters earlier, adding that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could potentially visit Washington this week or next. 

French President Emmanuel Macron said he would advise US President Donald Trump to get security guarantees for Ukraine “which can be assessed, checked and verified.” 

“I have the feeling [President Trump] has the capacity to achieve it,” Macron added.

Earlier Trump said that Russian leader Vladimir Putin would agree to European peacekeeping forces being stationed to secure a future ceasefire agreement.

French President Emmanuel Macron told a joint press conference with Donald Trump at the White House that France would be ready to provide security guarantees for Ukraine, and that European peacekeeping troops could play a role.

Macron also told President Trump that Europe is ready to “step up” defense spending but he said he hoped for “strong” US involvement in securing any peace settlement in Ukraine.

Macron emphasized that the peacekeepers would not be sent to the front line, and would be in place only after a peace treaty was signed. 

Macron said a peace deal could come in a second phase, after what he called a “truce”.

Trump said he believes Russia would be ready to accept European troops deployed in Ukraine as guarantors of a deal to end the fighting with Ukraine.

“Yeah, he will accept it,” Trump said. “I have asked him that question. Look, if we do this deal, he’s not looking for more war.”

Macron’s visit comes amid uncertainty about the future of transatlantic relations, with Trump moving to quickly end the war in Ukraine, not not including Europe in directly pursuing negotiations with Russia. 

Donald Trump was joined by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Oval Office on Monday, and told reporters he believes the Ukraine war could end “within weeks.”

Macron insisted that Ukraine “must be involved” in any negotiations on ending the war. 

Trump said Zelenskyy could visit the White House “this week or next.” On the table will likely be US access to Ukrainian minerals. 

Kyiv said Monday that it was in the “final stages” of a deal to give the US preferential access to rare minerals in exchange for US support. There was no immediate comment from Kyiv on a possible Trump-Zelenksyy meeting. 

Trump has caused disarray among Ukraine’s Western allies by repeating Russian narratives about that war in Ukraine, raising fears he will side with Moscow on a deal to end the war.

Earlier, Trump had said his talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin on ending the war in Ukraine “are proceeding very well.”

Trump posted on his Truth Social account before he was joined by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Oval Office for a conversation with other G7 leaders to mark the three-year anniversary of the war between Russia and Ukraine. 

“Everyone expressed their goal of seeing the war end,” Trump wrote, adding that the critical minerals deal between the US and Ukraine will be “signed very soon.”  

French President Emmanuel Macron met US President Donald Trump at the White House in a bid to shore up support for Ukraine against Russia. 

Trump and Macron dialed in together from the Oval Office for a call with the heads of the G7 leading economies and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Macron said the call was “perfect” and that his initial talks with Trump were “very friendly.”  

The two leaders will continue talks Monday afternoon and are due to speak with the press later Monday. 

The French president formed a strong bond with the US leader during his first term in office.

However, Macron rejected Trump’s recent comments, including those falsely stating that Ukraine started the war with Russia.

“For three years, Ukraine has been fighting with admirable courage against an aggressor, Russia. For sovereignty and freedom,” Macron said on X, also calling France’s support for Ukraine “unwavering.”

Both Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are at the White House this week as they hope to persuade Trump to stick by Kyiv and to include European leaders in talks between Moscow and Washington.

The UN General Assembly approved a resolution demanding an immediate withdrawal of all Russian troops from Ukraine.

The US had submitted a rival proposal that called for a “swift end” to the war but did specify that Russia “invaded” Ukraine. The assembly amended it so heavily that Washington abstained when the reworked text came to a vote.

The about-face from Washington comes as President Donald Trump has appeared to embrace Russian narratives on the war in Ukraine, including falsely claiming Ukraine started the conflict. 

The US is currently working on direct negotiations with Moscow on a possible end to the war, bypassing both Kyiv and its European allies. 

Monday’s resolution marks the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion. It is not legally binding, but it is seen as a barometer of world opinion.

The text reiterated “commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine.”

Of the 193-member world body, 93 countries voted in favor of the resolution, while 18 voted against it. 65 countries abstained. 

That’s lower than previous resolutions, which saw over 140 nations condemn Russia’s aggression and demand a reversal of its annexation of four Ukrainian regions.

Speaking at a summit in Kyiv marking the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said “this year should be … the beginning of a real and lasting peace.”

“We have to win peace through strength and wisdom and unity,” he told a press conference.

The summit comes as US President Donald Trump has turned on Europe and Ukraine, instead opting for direct talks with Russia to end the war, while falsely blaming Ukraine for starting the war, and calling the Ukrainian president a “dictator.”

The US did not send a representative to the summit on Monday.

The abrupt change in tone from Washington has forced Ukraine’s other allies in Europe, along with Canada, to consider the possibility of how to support Ukraine without the US. 

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin was not showing any signs of backing down, despite opening talks with the US on ending the war.

“Putin is trying harder than ever to win this war on the ground. His goal remains Ukraine’s capitulation,” she said.

She also called the war in Ukraine “the most central and consequential crisis for Europe’s future.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Monday that Ukraine could join the EU before 2030 if they continue to reform at the “current speed and quality.” 

“I really appreciate the political will that is there,” she said.

Von der Leyen was speaking at a press conference in Kyiv alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a dozen leaders from EU countries, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Zelenskyy said EU membership would act as a deterrence against further Russian aggression. 

“If Ukraine will be in EU and NATO in closest years, of course it will help us very much, and I think that they will not come back,” he said.

“We will have a strong army and strong allies and strong unity, to my mind, because [Russia] will never forgive the world that they didn’t win.”

Turkey said it was ready to host possible talks between Ukraine and Russia and would support any initiative leading to peace, following a visit to Ankara by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Ankara appreciated a US peace initiative, but reiterated that both sides must be involved in a solution.

“In that framework, we are ready to contribute all forms of support for peace to be achieved through talks. We are ready to host these talks as we have done before,” Fidan said.

Meanwhile, Lavrov said Russia is ready to negotiate over the war in Ukraine, but will only stop fighting when a peace settlement “suits” Moscow.

NATO member Turkey hosted the first talks between the two sides in 2022, months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It also helped secure an agreement for the safe passage of grain exports in the Black Sea.

The UK on Monday announced a new package of sanctions against people and organizations aiding Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The package of measures targets “Russia’s military machine, entities in third countries who support it and the fragile supply networks that it relies on,” a Foreign Office statement said.

It includes 67 new sanctions designations and naming 40 new vessels under the UK’s Russia sanctions regime.

Britain sanctioned manufacturers and suppliers of machine tools, electronics and dual-use goods, including microprocessors used in weapons systems.

These were located in a number of third countries, including Central Asian states, Turkey, Thailand, India and China.

The package also targeted North Korean Defense Minister No Kwang Chol over the deployment of North Korean forces in Russia.

The French government condemned an incident in Marseille in which three improvised explosive devices were thrown at the Russian consulate, saying diplomatic missions are inviolable.

“France condemns any infringement of the security of diplomatic compounds,” a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.

No one was injured in the morning attack, which came on the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Spain will provide Ukraine with a new €1 billion ($1.05 billion) military aid package this year, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in Kyiv during an international summit marking the third anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion.

“We’ll continue supporting Ukraine as long as necessary,” Sanchez told leaders, emphasizing the need for both Ukraine’s government and the European Union to be present at any peace talks with Moscow.

“Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine, and nothing about European security without Europe,” he added.

Meanwhile, EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, who also announced €3.5 billion of fresh aid to Kyiv, said at the summit that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin was set on Ukraine’s “capitulation.”

“The war in Ukraine remains the most central and consequential crisis for Europe’s future. Putin is trying harder than ever to win this war on the ground. His goal remains Ukraine’s capitulation,” von der Leyen said.

Speaking to the summit via video link, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that the Group of Seven (G7) rich countries should be willing to take more risks on sanctions against Russia, including capping oil prices, sanctioning Russia’s oil giants and going after banks that enable sanctions evasion.

Russia’s rights commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova said that Moscow has struck a deal with Kyiv and the Red Cross to evacuate some civilians from Russia’s embattled Kursk region, parts of which have been seized by Ukraine.

According to the official, the deal involves residents of the Kursk region who have already been evacuated to Ukraine’s neighboring Sumy region.

“There are people who are already in (Ukraine’s Sumy region) today. And there is an agreement with the Red Cross and the Ukrainian side that they will be evacuated to Russia through Belarus,” Moskalkova said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin informed his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in a phone call about Moscow’s talks with US last week, Kremlin said in a statement.

Putin “briefed the Chinese president on recent Russia-US contacts. The Chinese side expressed support for the start of dialogue between Russia and the US,” according to the statement.

Meanwhile, Chinese state media reported that Xi welcomed Moscow’s “positive efforts to defuse” the Ukraine crisis in a phone call with Putin.

Moscow and Beijing have been strengthening their military and trade ties since Russia sent troops into Ukraine, even though China has been trying to portray itself as a neutral party in the three-year-old conflict.

Ukraine and the United States are in the final stages of negotiations on a minerals deal, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna wrote on social media.

Stefanishyna said that “nearly all key details” had been finalized and that Ukraine had offered to sign the deal in Washington.

“We hope both US and Ukrainian leaders might sign and endorse it in Washington the soonest to showcase our commitment for decades to come,” she added.

Can US, Ukraine reach an agreement on critical minerals?

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