French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a meeting in Kyiv. File photoPARIS, Oct 23French President Emmanuel Macron, during a visit to Rome on Sunday, said that he believes in the prospect of a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, but only on Kyiv's terms. «Peace in Ukraine is possible, the only peace is how the Ukrainians choose it and when they do it, so that it will allow them to preserve their rights as a sovereign people,» Macron said, speaking at the opening of the international forum «Proclamation to Peace», which was broadcast by the official Elysee Palace Twitter account. «Speak of peace and call for peace can be unbearable for those who are now fighting for freedom, and can give them the feeling that they have been betrayed. Often those who spoke about peace were incomprehensible and it was perceived as a defeat. We cannot allow the concept of peace today to be held hostage by the Russian authorities. This is not their word. Peace today does not mean the establishment of the laws of who is stronger, nor a ceasefire that will only consolidate this state of affairs,» he added. Macron noted that it is important to continue in have a dialogue with Russia and Ukraine, adding that «there will come a moment» when both sides can sit down at the negotiating table.Slutsky called Zelensky's calls agony from the realization of failure. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Armed Forces strike only at military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops and , on March 25, completed the main tasks of the first stage — significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The ultimate goal of the operation, according to the supreme commander, is «the liberation of Donbass and the creation of conditions that would guarantee the security of Russia itself.» Putin said that Russia has always said that it is open to negotiations on Ukraine, if Kyiv matures, then the mediation efforts of those who offers.
French politician says Paris has been hit hard by Ukraine
