The French President has given Russia a deadline to cease fire in Ukraine. Emmanuel Macron said he would hold additional talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders, as the US and EU offer to Russia of an unconditional 30-day ceasefire expires on Monday evening.
“We all need to be sensible now. Either Russia is serious and wants peace, or it is not serious and we need to impose more sanctions,” Macron added.
Earlier on May 12, German Government Spokesman Stefan Cornelius warned that Russia would face sanctions if it did not agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine by the end of the day.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also announced that any counter-demand from Russia to the 30-day ceasefire initiative will be considered a rejection of the ceasefire. In this case, according to him, a number of countries are already ready to impose additional sanctions against Russia.
On the same day, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered Ukraine to resume direct talks in Istanbul on May 15 “without preconditions.” However, in his speech, he did not mention the initiative of the “coalition of the determined” on a 30-day ceasefire from May 12.
On the evening of May 11, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that the May 12 ceasefire proposal remains “on the table.” He also noted that he would be in Turkey on Thursday, May 15.
