Russia-Ukraine ceasefire 'feasible' in next few weeks, Macron says

French President Emmanuel Macron said that it was "feasible" to suggest a ceasefire in Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine could be agreed upon in the upcoming weeks.

Speaking to Fox News in Washington following talks with his US counterpart Donald Trump, Macron added that world leaders — including Trump — should nevertheless be "careful" in negotiating with Russia.

"In 2014, we had a ceasefire with Russia ... it was violated every time," Macron said, adding that any truce agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin should be backed by security guarantees.

Trump has said Russia's war in Ukraine could end "within weeks" and insisted that Europe should shoulder the burden of a peacekeeping deal.

Trump's push for peace talks with Russia and criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who he called a "dictator," have led European leaders concerned that the US would attempt to broker a ceasefire deal that was unfavourable to Ukraine and give Moscow time to regroup.

Macron has positioned himself at the forefront of efforts to ensure a united European response to a shifting tone from the new US administration, alongside UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Both have suggested they would be open to sending peacekeeping troops to the region, a suggestion that Macron reiterated on Monday.

"Not to go to the front line, not to go in confrontation, but to be in some locations, being defined by the treaty, as a presence to maintain this peace and our collective credibility with the US backup," Macron said.

'Nightmare of Orwellian language'

During a joint press conference with Macron, Trump said Putin had agreed to the presence of European peacekeeping forces in Ukraine, despite Russia's Ambassador to the United Kingdom Andrei Kelin outright rejecting the idea a few days prior.

Negotiations to end the fighting should cover security guarantees, land and territories, according to Macron.

Trump did not mention security guarantees after their meeting but said the cost of securing peace in Ukraine must be covered by Europe as well as the US.

Macron responded that Europe understood the need to "more fairly share the security burden."

Macron concluded that Trump's presence was a "game changer" and agreed that he had "good reason" to engage Putin in talks.

Trump said at some point he would be meeting Putin, although he added he did not know when.

The US president has also invited Zelenskyy to the White House in order to finalise a $500 billion (€477 billion) rare earth mineral deal that the Trump administration has framed as Kyiv repaying billions of dollars of support Washington has sent to the war-torn country.

Zelenskyy initially insisted that Ukraine would not sign such a deal as the US hadn't offered any specific security guarantees in return.

On Sunday, however, the speaker of Ukraine's parliament said the government would start working in earnest to reach an agreement with the Trump administration to provide the US with access to Ukraine's mineral resources.

He maintained that any agreement should include security assurances for Ukraine from Washington.

Meanwhile, former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke out against Trump and his administration's moves, likening the words from Washington to a "nightmare".

"We are going through a nightmare at the moment of Orwellian language about what’s happening, victim blaming of a kind I have never seen in my life before," Johnson said in Kyiv on Monday.

"To say that Ukraine started the war you might as well say that America provoked the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, it’s absolute rubbish and we need to call it out."

The former UK leader called for the continent's greater unity, stating that it is the only way to be seen as an actor on equal footing with the US and the rest.

"Unless European governments really get behind (Ukraine), the Trump administration is not going to take us seriously on this point," Johnson concluded.