French President Emmanuel Macron has urged tougher measures against Moscow should Russian President Vladimir Putin fail to advance peace talks with Ukraine.
Speaking after discussions at the White House on Monday, Macron said: “President Trump believes we can get an agreement and believes that President Putin also wants a peace accord. But if in the end, this process is met by refusal, we are also ready to say that we need to increase sanctions.”
Macron pointed to the ripple effect of Washington’s recent decision to impose secondary sanctions on India, a country that has become a key purchaser of Russian energy since Western restrictions took hold following Moscow’s invasion. “The secondary sanctions on India have had a lot of effects,” he noted.
The diplomatic push follows a series of meetings in which U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Putin in Alaska, followed by an invitation to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to visit the White House three days later.
Trump, however, has drawn criticism for once again urging Kyiv to cede territory over the weekend — a stance aligning with Putin and at odds with Zelensky’s firm position that Ukraine must reclaim all land seized by Russia.
Responding to questions on whether Trump tied U.S. security guarantees to Ukrainian concessions, Macron said: “No, that wasn’t discussed at all. We’re well away from that.”
He added that European and American leaders were united on maintaining a strong Ukrainian defense: “There can be no restrictions on the size of Ukraine’s military in a future deal with Russia. All the leaders meeting in Washington support a robust Ukrainian army that can resist any attempted attack.”
Looking ahead, Macron expressed cautious optimism that direct dialogue could resume soon: “I hope Russia and Ukraine will resume contact in the coming days,” he said, adding that a potential three-way summit with Trump, Putin, and Zelensky could take place “in two to three weeks.”
