France's President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday, April 24, that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin needed to "stop lying" over wanting peace in Ukraine while continuing to strike the country.
"The only thing to do is for President Putin to finally stop lying," Macron said during a visit to Madagascar. He accused the Russian leader of telling US negotiators "he wants peace" but then continuing "to bombard Ukraine."
A Russian missile attack on Kyiv earlier Thursday killed at least nine people, one of the deadliest strikes on the Ukrainian capital since Moscow launched its invasion more than three years ago. The attacks throw yet more doubt on already fraught US efforts to push Russia and Ukraine to agree to a halt in fighting.
"In Ukraine, they only want a single answer: Does President Putin agree to an unconditional ceasefire?" Macron said. He added that Putin was the only person holding up the US-proposed and European-backed proposal: "If President Putin says yes, the weapons will fall silent tomorrow, lives will be saved."
"US anger should be directed at only one person, President Putin," he added.
US President Donald Trump's administration has been floating the idea of recognizing Russian control of Crimea as part of a peace settlement. Trump on Wednesday said Crimea – a lush Black Sea peninsula with longtime Soviet and Russian naval facilities – was "not even a point of discussion" and was "lost years ago," a position welcomed by the Kremlin.
Macron however said he thought the priority should be first agreeing to a ceasefire, and that the status of Crimea was not something to be discussed "for now."