If Putin refuses to hold talks France will push for new curbs

Russian President Vladimir Putin will have “played” his US counterpart Donald Trump if the Kremlin chief fails to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday.

Macron expressed hope that such a meeting would take place, but said if the Russian leader did not meet a Monday deadline to agree to the talks “it will show again President Putin has played President Trump”, and warned that France would push for new “primary and secondary sanctions” to pressure Moscow.

His comments came as diplomatic efforts to end the three-and-a-half-year conflict sparked by Russia’s 2022 invasion of its neighbour appear to have lost steam after Trump moved to restore dialogue with Moscow at the start of his second presidency.

“I think this is not a good thing for us all. This cannot stay without response,” Macron said, after talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the south of France, saying they would both have new telephone talks with Trump at the weekend.

“I hope it (the meeting between Putin and Zelensky) takes place but if not... we will push for primary and secondary sanctions which will pressure Russia and force it to come to the negotiating table,” Macron said.

Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin are seen in this combo image received through X. File

Macron also showed no regret for describing Putin earlier this month as an “ogre at our gates”, comments which angered Moscow.

“We say there is an ogre at the gates of Europe... this is very much what the Georgians (after a 2008 invasion) and Ukrainians and many other nations feel very deeply,” he said.

“That is a man who has decided to go down an authoritarian path and impose an imperialism to change international frontiers.”

After deadly drone and missile attacks on Kyiv on Thursday, Macron also warned that Putin had a habit of saying one thing at international talks and then acting differently.

“The gap between President Putin’s positions at international summits and the reality on the ground shows how insincere he is,” he said.

Merz said that Russia’s war against Ukraine war could yet go on for “many more months”, adding that he had “no illusions” about the prospects of a swift conclusion.

He vowed that “we will not abandon Ukraine” but said it looked like Putin was showing “no readiness” to meet with Zelensky.

“To be frank that does not surprise me as this belongs to the strategy of the Russian president,” Merz said.

Russia said on Friday that Macron had spoken in a manner unbecoming of a head of state when he called Putin “an ogre at our gates”.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters in Moscow that Macron was constantly making strange statements that sometimes crossed the line of decency and turned into “low-grade insults”.

“This is unworthy of a head of state,” said Zakharova.

European defense ministers pledged on Friday to ramp up support for Ukraine and increase pressure on Russia, a day after a Russian air assault on Kyiv killed 23 people and badly damaged a European diplomatic compound.

Outrage over the attack propelled Europe’s leaders to condemn Russia even before Friday’s meeting and call for tougher measures on Moscow like seizing frozen assets, further sanctions and increasing support for Ukraine’s military and membership in the European Union.

“Everybody understands that, considering how (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is mocking the peace efforts, the only thing that works is pressure,” said Kaja Kallas, foreign policy chief for the European Union.

They also discussed European troops’ deployment in Ukraine to guarantee security and monitor a peace that seems distant as American efforts to broker peace between Ukraine and Russia appear stalled.

Kyiv’s European allies are looking to set up a force that could backstop any peace agreement, and a coalition of 30 countries, including European nations, Japan and Australia, has signed up to support the initiative. Kallas said that in terms of security guarantees for Ukraine, the US is demanding that Europe carry “the lion’s share” of the burden.

Military chiefs are figuring out how that security force might work. The role that the US might play is unclear. Trump has ruled out sending US troops to help defend Ukraine against Russia.

Two missiles landed about 50 meters from an EU diplomatic mission in Kyiv, shattering the office’s windows and doors but causing no injuries there. The EU summoned the Russian envoy in Brussels over the attack.

The UN Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting on airstrikes against Ukraine on Friday afternoon at the request of Ukraine and five European council members - Britain, France, Slovenia, Denmark and Greece. Two of Ukraine’s top envoys were set to meet Friday with the Trump administration regarding mediation.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after Thursday’s attack on Kyiv.

Agencies