French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin would be misleading U.S. President Donald Trump if he fails to commit by Monday to peace talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“If that doesn’t happen by Monday, the deadline set by President Trump, it means President Putin has once again played President Trump,” Macron said during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff, was asked outside the White House if Macron’s warning was true.
“Such an absurd question,” Miller replied. “President Trump has achieved seven peace deals in seven months. No president in history has done more to advance the cause of peace. He’s been nominated by multiple world leaders for the Nobel Peace Prize. Obviously, he’s working steadfastly to end the killing in Ukraine.”
Trump has previously criticized Russia’s president, saying Putin “talks nice and then he bombs everybody.” At the same time, he has also faulted Ukraine for its own attacks. A recent large-scale Russian missile and drone strike that killed at least 23 people drew no direct condemnation from the Trump administration.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt noted Thursday that Ukraine has also been targeting Russian oil refineries.
Trump has warned there will be unspecified “consequences” if Putin and Zelensky fail to meet. Zelensky reminded reporters Friday that Trump had given Putin one to two weeks to agree to talks before considering new action against Moscow.
“Two weeks will be on Monday. And we will remind everybody,” Zelensky said.
Meetings between U.S., Ukrainian, and European leaders planned for next week in New York appear aimed at pushing forward peace efforts. Zelensky has voiced frustration that Russia continues heavy strikes on civilian areas while showing little interest in real negotiations.
On Friday, Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine’s presidential office, met in New York with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy, to prepare for the meetings. Yermak said he updated Witkoff on Russia’s latest attacks and stressed that Putin had shown no real intent to pursue peace despite his earlier meeting with Trump in Alaska.
Russian officials said Friday that Putin remained open to talks, though preparations for high-level negotiations had not yet begun.
Putin has often justified his war by falsely claiming that Ukraine is a Nazi state and saying his goal is to “demilitarize and denazify” the country. Critics argue his true motives include reviving the old Russian empire and seizing Ukraine’s rich natural resources.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, though the conflict began earlier in 2014 with the invasion and annexation of Crimea.
In a social media post Friday, Yermak said, “The key priority is to push forward real diplomacy and ensure the implementation of all the agreements reached at the Washington summit. We are coordinating our efforts.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “President Putin does not rule out the possibility of such a meeting, but he believes any high-level talks must be properly prepared. The groundwork should first be carried out at the expert level.”
Putin is scheduled to attend a meeting in China on Sunday, alongside leaders from Iran and North Korea — both countries accused by the U.S. of helping Russia’s war effort.
From September 9, world leaders will gather at the United Nations General Assembly, where Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is expected to be a major topic.
