US President Joe Biden stated that he the only way to end the war in Ukraine is for the Russian President Vladimir Putin to withdraw the troops and that Biden is ready to talk to him if Putin ends the conflict, speaking at a joint press conference following talks with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in Washington DC on Thursday.
“I’m prepared to speak with Mr Putin if in fact there is an interest in him deciding he’s looking for a way to end the war. He hasn’t done that yet,” Biden said.
US leader added that if that’s the case, in consultation with my French and my NATO friends, he would be happy to ‘sit down with Putin to see what he has in mind’. However, Biden noted that he has ‘no immediate plans to contact Mr Putin.’
US president also reiterated his support for Ukraine. He condemned Moscow for ‘inflicting incredible carnage on the civilian population of Ukraine – bombing nurseries, hospitals, children’s homes. It’s sick what he’s (Putin) doing.’
Moreover, Biden thanked Macron for taking over 100,000 Ukrainian refugees in France.
In his turn, French President Emmanuel Macron said that Paris would never urge the Ukrainians to make a compromise that would not be acceptable to Kiev because ‘they are so brave and they defend precisely their lives, their nation, and our principles, and because it will never build a sustainable peace.”
“If we want a sustainable peace, we have to respect the Ukrainians to decide the moment and the conditions in which they will negotiate about their territory and their future”, Macron added.
