French President Emmanuel Macron declared on Tuesday that European nations will enact fresh sanctions against Russia within days should Moscow decline a ceasefire in Ukraine. “Our intention is to impose sanctions” if Russia disregards the ceasefire proposal presented by Kyiv’s European allies, Macron stated in an interview with TF1 television.
Following a call from the leaders of France, Britain, Germany, and Poland for Russia to accept a 30-day unconditional ceasefire starting Monday, Macron’s statement underscores European resolve. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged Russian leader Vladimir Putin to personally attend Russia-Ukraine talks in Turkey on Thursday, though Moscow has yet to confirm its delegation.
The European Union has already implemented 16 rounds of sanctions against Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with a 17th round scheduled for adoption next Tuesday. Contrary to Macron’s assertion, the financial sector and hydrocarbons have not been entirely spared by these measures; the EU has sanctioned Russia’s energy sector, including import bans on Russian oil and coal.
Macron also asserted that “no legal framework” currently exists to seize frozen Russian assets, deeming it “not a good solution.”
The French president noted that Ukraine acknowledges its inability to reclaim all territories seized by Russia since 2014, cautioning that the West seeks to avoid a “Third World War.” “We must help Ukraine defend itself but we do not want to unleash a Third World War,” Macron emphasized. “The war must cease and Ukraine must be in the best possible situation to go into negotiations.”
He added that “even the Ukrainians have the clear-sightedness to say they do not have the capacity to retake everything that has been taken since 2014.” Prior to the full-scale invasion in 2022, Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in 2014 and supported forces that seized parts of two eastern Ukrainian regions.
