France says Ukraine truce would test Russia's commitment to end war

PARIS — France on Monday said a plan for a one-month truce between Russia and Ukraine would test Moscow's commitment to ending the war it began with its 2022 invasion.

A day after European leaders rallied around Ukraine at a summit in London after a stormy White House dispute between Donald Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot also warned that the Ukraine "front line keeps getting closer to us".

President Emmanuel Macron said after the London talks that France and Britain were proposing a one-month truce in Ukraine "in the air, at sea and on energy infrastructure", though not, initially at least, covering ground fighting.

Barrot said such a move "would allow to prove the good will of (Russian President) Vladimir Putin if he commits to a truce".

"And it's then that real peace negotiations would start. We want a solid peace and a durable peace," he told France Inter radio.

In an initial phase, it is "a way of verifying that Russia is willing to end this war", Barrot said, emphasising that no withdrawal of Russian troops on the ground was envisaged during the truce.

 'Risk of war in Europe' 

While Macron's attendance at the London summit called by Prime Minister Keir Starmer has placed Franco-British cooperation at the heart of the search for peace, UK armed forces minister Luke Pollard said "no agreement has been made on what a truce looks like".

"But we are working together with France and our European allies to look at what is the path to how... we create a lasting and durable peace in Ukraine," Pollard told Times Radio.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a UK government official added: "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."

Friedrich Merz, the right-wing politician set to be Germany's next chancellor after last month's elections, meanwhile thanked Starmer for his "leadership to bring a lasting and just peace" to Ukraine.

"We have to remain united in our goal to end Russia's war of aggression," he added on X.

Asked by France Inter to respond to Trump's accusation that Zelensky was "gambling with World War III", Barrot acknowledged the danger of the conflict spreading.

"Never has the risk of a war in Europe, in the European Union been so high... the threat keeps getting closer to us, the front line keeps getting closer to us," he said.

"To end the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, we want the United States, through pressure, to be able to bring Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table and agree to put an end once and for all to his imperialist ambitions which have moved the front line closer and closer to home," Barrot added.

 'Desire to humiliate' 

In their Oval Office meeting on Friday, Trump berated Zelensky, telling him to be more "thankful" for US support against the invading Russian army in the three-year-old war and demanding he "make a deal" with Moscow.

Following the televised clash with Trump and US Vice President JD Vance, Zelensky departed the White House without signing an expected deal on Kyiv's rare minerals.

But the Ukrainian leader has maintained he is still open to signing a mineral deal as a step towards "security guarantees".

France's Prime Minister Francois Bayrou in parliament later on Monday saluted the fact that Zelensky did not "fold" to US pressure, describing Trump and Vance's attempted takedown of the Ukrainian leader as "a shocking scene, marked by brutality and a desire to humiliate".

He said the scene had left two victims: "the security of Ukraine" and "a certain idea of the alliance" between the United States and Europe.

"It is up to us Europeans to guarantee the security and defence of Europe," he said at a debate on Ukraine and European security.