President Trump realizes that President Putin lied when he said on the phone that he was ready for peace, or told his envoy that he was ready for peace, says Macron during a press briefing during a state visit to Vietnam.
We have once again seen Donald Trump express his anger. A kind of impatience. I now only hope that it is translated into action.
It is not clear whether Macron has spoken to Trump recently.
The Frenchman is making renewed demands to set a deadline for a proper ceasefire – "so that everyone can see that he is lying" – and for Ukraine's allies to unite on "massive" punitive measures if that does not happen:
Primarily in the form of sanctions.
The US and Trump's initiative to bring the parties to a negotiating table appears to have had the opposite effect, according to Germany's Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz in an interview with German Westdeutscher Rundfunk.
Putin apparently sees offers of talks as a sign of weakness, says Merz.
If not even an offer of a meeting in the Vatican is accepted, we must be prepared for this war to last longer than we all wish or can imagine.
