By John Irish
PARIS (Reuters) -French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that Ukraine needs to have a realistic position on territorial issues as part of efforts to bring about a negotiation with Russia.
Speaking at an annual conference to French ambassadors to outline their strategy for the year, Macron’s comments were the first time he had suggested that Kyiv should consider a position beyond seeking to regain all territory seized by Russia.
Moscow, which annexed Crimea in 2014, launched a full-blown invasion of Ukraine in Feb. 2022 and currently controls about a fifth of the country, including most of the eastern Donbas region.
“The Ukrainians need to hold a realistic discussion on the territorial questions and only they can do that, and the Europeans are counting on building security guarantees that will be their responsibility,” Macron said.
The United States’ role should be to convince Russia to come to the negotiation table, he said, while adding that no solution to the conflict could be agreed without the direct involvement of Ukraine and Europe.
Speaking at a news conference in Paris, Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski made it clear his country’s position had not changed and said only Ukraine could decide on the future of its borders.
“Poland thinks that the most natural and lasting solution would be a return to the recognised borders,” he said alongside his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot.
“Let us recall that it was President Vladimir Putin who personally negotiated and ratified the border treaty between Russia and Ukraine in 2004.”
Macron reiterated that Ukraine’s allies needed to ensure that Kyiv has enough backing so that it can come enter any negotiations from a position of strength. He made no specific new commitments to help Ukraine.
“There will not be a quick and easy solution,” Macron said, referring to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to end the war quickly.
(Reporting by John Irish; Editing by GV De Clercq and Gareth Jones)
