France announces new sanctions against Russia
Macron calls for tougher sanctions against Russia (Illustrative photo: Getty Images)
World leaders continue to stress the need to compel Russia to engage in peace negotiations and to halt hostilities on Ukrainian territory, according to the official CBS News website.
French President Emmanuel Macron outlined the need to strengthen sanctions pressure on Russia while simultaneously seeking tools to bring Moscow back to the negotiating table.
“We have to increase sanctions against Russia, but we have to find the way to precisely put more pressure on Russia to bring them back at the table,” Macron stated.
Support for US initiatives
The French leader also emphasized his belief in the US president’s commitment to peace. He recalled that Donald Trump initiated a summit with Vladimir Putin in Anchorage and personally took on the risk of such a move.
“So, I sincerely believe that your president was committed and is committed to make peace in Ukraine, and he engaged, he took the risk to make a summit with President Putin in Anchorage and he asked for negotiations,” Macron said.
Kremlin’s position
At the same time, the French president noted that Moscow shows no readiness for a full-fledged negotiation process. According to him, every attempt to organize a diplomatic dialogue has been accompanied by escalations on the front lines.
“I have to, just to recognize that there is no clear willingness of President Putin to be sincerely engaged in such a move, because as we were working on a diplomatic way, as we were trying to organize bilateral, trilateral, quadrilateral summit, the Russians were increasing the assaults in Donbas, but not just in Donbas, intensified provocations on one side and attacks on Kyiv on the other side,” he stated.
French President Emmanuel Macron also said that the European Union will conduct its own diplomacy toward China and independently determine whether additional tariffs and duties on Beijing are necessary. This was in response to a US initiative by Donald Trump, who had earlier proposed new trade restrictions to increase pressure on China.
Additionally, Macron intends to use the UN General Assembly to rally several countries around the idea of recognizing the State of Palestine, aiming to create a global balance and counter the positions of the US and Israel.
