France urges Russia to accept 30-day ceasefire proposal

ISTANBUL

The French president on Friday urged Russia to accept the US-backed 30-day ceasefire proposal in Ukraine.

“Russia must now accept the US-Ukrainian proposal for a 30-day ceasefire. Russian aggression in Ukraine must end,” Emmanuel Macron wrote on X, after speaking to Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

He reiterated the need to stop “atrocities” and “dilatory statements.”

“Tomorrow, we will continue to work on strengthening support for Ukraine and for a solid, lasting peace, via videoconference" with Starmer, Zelensky and other partners, he added.

Ukraine has supported the ceasefire proposal with Russia, agreed after talks with US officials in Jeddah earlier this week.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, said he backs a ceasefire in principle but wants the root causes of the conflict to be addressed.