Leaders from Germany, France, the UK and Poland have told Russian leader Vladimir Putin to agree to a 30-day ceasefire starting Monday, or that French President Emmanuel Macron will face “massive” sanctions on a very iconic visit to Kyiv. According to Europeans, there is demand for White House support after a joint call with President Donald Trump.
Four leaders standing alongside Kiev’s Ukrainian President Voldy Mie Zelensky – Macron, new German Prime Minister Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Kiel Starmer and his Polish counterpart Donald Tass said that ceasefires should be observed on land, at sea and in the air.
If successful, Macron said it could pave the way for “an immediate launch of negotiations to build robust and lasting peace.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an exclusive interview with CNN’s Frederick Pleetzgen shortly after the leaders called for a ceasefire, Russia was “resisting pressure of all sorts.”
“Europe is actually very openly facing us,” Peskov said, adding that while Russian President Vladimir Putin “general” supports the idea of a ceasefire, there are “many questions” about the recent proposal that still needs answers. He did not expand on these questions.