‘Failure for everybody’: Zelenskyy rejects immediate ceasefire calls, UK distances from Macron’s proposal

After Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected the call for an immediate ceasefire, the United Kingdom has distanced from a truce proposal floated by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Following the European leaders’ summit in London on Sunday, Macron told French newspaper Le Figaro that the UK and France have come up with a partial monthlong ceasefire proposal, according to the English translation carried by Reuters.

However, in a later interview with Financial Times, Zelenskyy rejected the idea of an immediate ceasefire and then the UK also distanced itself from the proposal and said it’s solely a French proposal.

The development comes at a time when Europe is taking lead towards peacemaking efforts in Ukraine . Macron and British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer have drafted a proposal for a European peacekeeping force in Ukraine backed by the United States. However, the two sides are apparently not in agreement regarding a ceasefire in Ukraine.

More from World

UK provides £2.26 billion loan to Ukraine as Starmer embraces Zelenskyy after White House showdown ‘Coalition of the willing’: What is peace plan for Ukraine discussed at Starmer's London summit?

Macron floats ceasefire proposal, Zelenskyy rejects it

Following the summit in London, Macron said that the UK and France have come up with a one-month partial ceasefire proposal, according to English translations carried by Reuters.

Macron said that the ceasefire would halt the fighting in the air and sea and attacks on energy infrastructure, but not fighting on the ground.

Under such a plan, European peacekeepers would only be deployed in Ukraine in the second phase and “there will be no European troops on Ukrainian soil in the coming weeks”, Macron told Le Figaro, according to translated remarks.

Macron further said, “The question is how we use this time to try to obtain a truce, with negotiations that will take several weeks and then, once peace is signed, a (troop) deployment.”

Impact Shorts

More Shorts

‘The cries of this widow will echo’: In first public remarks, Erika Kirk warns Charlie’s killers they’ve ‘unleashed a fire’

Trump urges Nato to back sanctions on Russia, calls for 50–100% tariffs on China

ALSO READ: Starmer to present Trump plan to deploy European peacekeepers in Ukraine: Report

Zelenskyy rejected the call for ceasefire and said an immediate ceasefire would be a “failure for everyone”.

“If you don’t have an end to the war and you don’t have security guarantees, no one is able to control a ceasefire,” said Zelenskyy in the interview with FT.

Zelenskyy maintained the importance of security guarantees in the interview and said more dialogue is needed to firm up any proposal.

Zelenskyy said, “We will have a working plan of action and a clearer vision of what security guarantees can be given to Ukraine. For us, security guarantees are confidence that the same things won’t happen after this hot stage [is over]…All of these structures are sending signals to each other. And I think it would be simpler to have more time for direct dialogue. I don’t know their tactics.”

UK distances from Macron’s proposal

Even though Macron in the interview pitched it as a joint proposal, the UK has distanced itself from the it.

An ally of Starmer told FT that what Macron said was not a “a UK plan”.

A British official further said, “There are various options on the table, subject to further discussions with the US and European partners, but a one-month truce has not been agreed.”

ALSO READ: US security guarantees a must, Putin eyes not just Ukraine but all Europe, says Zelenskyy

Separately, UK armed forces minister Luke Pollard told Sky News that any pause at the moment would allow Russia to regroup and return to the battlefield later.

He told Sky News: “The very real worry that the Ukrainians have is that any short pause in the war simply allows the Russians time to re-arm, regroup and reinvade.”