Macron and Scholz: France and Germany will not ask Ukraine to make concessions

EUROPEAN PRAVDA – THURSDAY, 16 JUNE 2022, 20:18

French President Emmanuel Macron said that France and Germany will not ask Ukraine to make concessions in order to end the Russian-Ukrainian war. Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz supported Macron’s assertion.

According to European Pravda, Macron and Scholz made this statement in response to a reporter’s question following the meeting of the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, and Romania with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine.

"This conflict will have to end at some point. At that point, negotiations will have to take place. But I have already stressed that the circumstances of the negotiations and their format will be determined by Ukraine. Germany and France will never hold talks behind Ukraine’s back, [and] will never ask Ukraine to make concessions. This has never happened and it never will. We will be demanding mediators, but we will not demand concessions," Macron said.

He underscored that France will continue to maintain communications with the Russian leadership.

At the same time, Macron said that he informs President Zelenskyy about each of his conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the content thereof.

In turn, Chancellor Scholz of Germany agreed that only Ukraine can determine the conditions of a ceasefire and of any peace agreements.

"Only Ukraine, its president and parliament, and Ukrainian people can decide what matters most for them. The only peace we can speak of is peace as they define it. I am absolutely clear on this…Russia has no right to seek what it does. The demands that Russia levels at Ukraine cannot be met," Scholz said during his visit to Kyiv.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi also believes that a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia has to be concluded on Ukraine’s terms.