Kremlin dismisses Macron's call for 'Olympic truce', says Ukraine may use it to regroup, rearm

Responding to French President Emmanuel Macron’s call for an international truce during the Paris Olympics, the Kremlin expressed concerns, saying that Ukraine may take the opportunity to regroup and rearm itself.

Macron had proposed the concept of putting an end to hostilities as part of the Olympic truce tradition to put it into effect from July 26 to August 11.

The Russian military and President Vladimir Putin have noted that Ukraine often uses these kinds of opportunities to improve its military capabilities, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

Hoever, Peskov did not offer any particular instances of this kind of behaviour. There has been continuous fighting in Ukraine since the conflict’s start on February 24, 2022, without a declared ceasefire.

Peskov did not go as far as ruling out an Olympic truce, but said no one had yet made any official steps in that regard. The front lines in Ukraine have not shifted dramatically since late 2022, but Russia has regained the initiative since capturing the town of Avdiivka in February.

Ukrainian forces are running low on ammunition as military aid remains held up in the US Congress and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said Russia may launch a major offensive in late spring or summer.

In his interview with French media, Macron said France would “do everything” to bring about a truce in the conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan, and that he would engage Chinese President Xi Jinping on the issue.

“It is an opportunity on which I will try to involve many of our partners. The Chinese president is coming to Paris in a few weeks, I will ask him to help me,” he said. Peskov, in reply to a separate question about China, said Beijing’s position on the Ukraine conflict was “very balanced and constructive”.

China, which has not condemned Moscow’s invasion and has substantially boosted trade with Russia since the start of the war, put forward a peace initiative last year consisting of a set of general principles that did not include specifics on how to bring the conflict to an end.

With inputs from Reuters.