Demand for 30-Day Complete Ceasefire on Land, Sea, and Air to Russia
Additional Sanctions in Coordination with the United States
Proposal of Security Guarantee Force for Ukraine
French President Emmanuel Macron stated on May 13 (local time) that if Russia does not accept an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, additional sanctions could be imposed on its financial services, oil, and gas sectors.
Appearing in the TF1 broadcast studio that evening, President Macron said, "Our goal is to achieve a ceasefire that halts all fighting on land, in the air, and at sea for 30 days, in order to secure time to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine," and criticized, "Russia has rejected this."
He went on to say that if Russia ultimately refuses to accept the 30-day ceasefire, "additional sanctions will be imposed in coordination with the United States within the next few days," adding that these additional sanctions would bring about a change in the situation.
Previously, on May 10, the leaders of Ukraine and four major European countries gathered in Kyiv and demanded that Russia accept an unconditional ceasefire of at least 30 days starting from May 12. They warned that if Russia did not accept the ceasefire proposal, they would expand military support for Ukraine and, together with the United States, impose further sanctions on Russia's energy and financial sectors. However, President Vladimir Putin did not respond, and in the early morning of May 11, he suddenly proposed to Ukraine that they meet for direct talks in Istanbul, T?rkiye, on May 15.
Regarding security guarantees for Ukraine, President Macron explained, "Since Ukraine will not join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), we are proposing a security guarantee force," adding, "We will use this as a deterrent against Russia."
On the territorial issue, which is one of the obstacles in ceasefire negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, President Macron said, "Even Ukrainians themselves are clearly aware that they cannot recover all areas (including Crimea) occupied by Russia since 2014."
When the host pointed out that North Korea, whose gross domestic product (GDP) is significantly lower than that of Western countries, has supplied more shells to Russia than the West has provided to Ukraine, President Macron responded, "This is because North Korea has chosen a different socio-economic system than ours," adding, "To be clear, we do not invest in the military as much as North Korea does." He continued, "Instead, we invest in schools, hospitals, and our social model," and added, "Also, since we possess nuclear deterrence, it is normal that we do not have the same shell or missile production capacity as other countries."
Regarding the idea of sharing France's nuclear deterrence with European allies, President Macron said, "We are ready to have this discussion. We will formally define the framework in the future," but also stated, "France will not bear costs for the security of other countries." He added, "This does not mean taking away from what we need, and the final decision-making authority always rests with the president, who is the commander-in-chief."
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