At the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (referred to as Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, or COP27), French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated France’s commitment to Ukraine, while ensuring that Ukraine should “at some point” resume negotiations to end the conflict.
“I remain convinced for my part and I assume it, even at this moment, at some point, we will have to come back around a negotiating table,” stated Macron at a press conference as part of the COP27. However, the President stressed that the negotiations will have to take place “under conditions and at a time that will be chosen by Ukraine.”
The French president recalled, however, that he was “precipitated to give completely radical preconditions” in light of the “heavy tensions on the ground,” specifically referring to the electricity and water interruptions that Ukrainians were experiencing as a result of daily Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. “The current setting does not permit operational explanations on this subject,” he reiterated
Macron’s statements about negotiations with Russia have surfaced before. He had already mentioned that peace with Russia is possible during his speech at the opening of a peace summit in Rome at the end of October 2022.
The French president’s call for peace comes at a time when the U.S. has also urged Ukraine to remain open to negotiations with Russia. “The discussions are not aimed at encouraging the Ukrainians to negotiate now – rather, the US wants Kyiv to convey more clearly that it wants to find a resolution to the conflict and that Ukraine has the moral high ground”, writes CNN.
On Sep. 30, 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that “Ukraine will not hold any negotiations with Russia as long as Putin is the president of the Russian Federation. We will negotiate with the new president.”
Photo: Nariman El-Mofty/AP/SIPA via Le Journal du Dimanche
