Mon Feb 24 21:50:40 UTC 2025: ## Macron Warns Against Ukrainian Surrender as Trump Pushes for Swift Peace Deal with Russia
**Washington D.C./Kyiv** – French President Emmanuel Macron issued a stark warning Monday that any peace deal in Ukraine cannot come at the cost of Ukrainian surrender, even as he expressed cautious optimism following talks with US President Donald Trump. The two leaders, meeting on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion, discussed the possibility of deploying a European-led peacekeeping force to Ukraine, a proposal met with the caveat from Trump that Europe should bear the primary responsibility.
These discussions come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for peace in 2023 during meetings with European leaders in Kyiv, and as the UN overwhelmingly supported a resolution affirming Ukraine’s territorial integrity. However, a simultaneous US statement at the UN notably refrained from blaming Russia for the conflict, a move that has raised concerns about a potential shift in US policy towards Moscow, aligning the Trump administration with Russia and North Korea on this issue.
Macron emphasized that a rapid peace agreement is desirable, but it must not be a fragile one. He acknowledged Trump’s rationale for re-engaging with Russian President Vladimir Putin but stressed the crucial need for US support for any European peacekeeping initiative. Both Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer have proposed the deployment of troops for peacekeeping, not combat, operations in Ukraine.
Trump, expressing confidence in his ability to broker a swift end to the conflict, stated that a resolution could be achieved “within weeks” if approached strategically. He also claimed Putin is receptive to a European peacekeeping force as part of a ceasefire agreement. This follows recent communications between Trump and Putin, with reports suggesting a possible meeting between the two leaders in Saudi Arabia in the coming weeks.
However, Trump’s recent overtures to Russia and his assertion that Ukraine started the war have sparked alarm in Europe. He has openly criticized Zelenskyy, echoing Putin’s negative assessments of the Ukrainian president. Trump’s actions are seen as a decisive break from traditional US foreign policy, leaving European leaders scrambling to coordinate a response to the potential shift in US support for Ukraine. Macron, representing a coordinated European stance following consultations with several European leaders, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, is attempting to navigate this evolving geopolitical landscape.
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