France ready to become guarantor for peace process in Ukraine

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On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron said his country is ready to become a peace guarantor for the Ukraine peace process upon the achievement of a ceasefire, according to Le Parisien.

"At some point, a ceasefire will be declared, and we will need to build peace. This cannot be done without a guarantor, and there were calls to France to become one of those guarantors," Macron said.

Macron said his readiness to continue negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin regardless of the results, letting Paris "to retain its status of a negotiator."

"This is my duty. And even if I believe that there will be no result by mid-May, it will be useful in preparations for future peace," Macron said.

Furthermore, Macron said that he is particularly looking into the humanitarian corridors in Ukraine, particularly in Mariupol. He said that Moscow "refused in a very clear fashion" when France offered to handle its own humanitarian operation in Mariupol, cooperating with Greece and Turkey, with the participation of the ICRC. 

Yesterday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a summit of countries ready to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine, in a bid to end the war in the country.

The Ukrainian president named a number of countries that are "ready to meet and discuss a list of security guarantees" for Kiev, including the US, Britain, Turkey, Poland, Germany, France and "Israel."

After the security guarantors form a clear position on the issue, communication will begin with Russia.

On Wednesday, Gabriel Attal, the French spokesman for the cabinet and secretary of state said that France has completed preparations for an international humanitarian operation in Mariupol to evacuate the city's residents and is waiting for Russia's approval.

Macron slams Morawiecki's defamation for maintaining talks with Putin

French President Emmanuel Macron slammed Poland's Prime Minister, on Wednesday, for criticizing the French leader's ongoing talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Read more: Putin, Macron tackle situation in Ukraine

 

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki bashed Macron's hours of phone calls with Putin, whom he compared to Hitler, on Monday, remarking they had accomplished nothing.

"How many times have you negotiated with Putin and what have you achieved?" he said, addressing the French leader. 

"We do not discuss, we do not negotiate with criminals. Criminals have to be fought against."

"Nobody negotiated with Hitler. Would you negotiate with Hitler, with Stalin, with Pol Pot?"

On Wednesday evening, when asked about the remarks, Macron answered back asserting that "These statements are both baseless and scandalous," and they threaten to undermine EU unity.

Macron claimed that Poland's president belonged to a "far-right party" and was "supporting" his rival Marine Le Pen in France's presidential election this month.

"I take full responsibility for having spoken to the president of Russia, in the name of France, to avoid the war and to build a new architecture for peace in Europe several years ago," he added.

"I did it from the beginning of my term in office," he stressed adding: "I was never naive, unlike others. I was never complicit, unlike others."