French President Emmanuel Macron (left) and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky at the presidential palace in Paris, December 1, 2025. CYRIL BITTON/DIVERGENCE FOR LE MONDE
An unsettling sense of déjà vu is hanging over Europe. On Monday, December 1, on the eve of talks in Moscow between United States President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron recalled some recent history. "We must see things as they are," said Macron, hosting his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in Paris in a show of French and European solidarity with Kyiv. "There is an American mediation effort, which is a very good thing, and which will now put pressure on Russia: Do you want peace or not?"
Yet, while welcoming the "new form of initiative," Macron listed previous US attempts, all unsuccessful due to Russia's unwillingness. "Remember, in March of this year, President Zelensky said: 'I agree to a ceasefire.' They [the US] went in, and the Russians said: 'No.' Then, we had another proposal around June. We worked on it here and in London. The Russians said: 'No.' After that, there was Anchorage [August 15], an American proposal for mediation. The Russians said: 'No.'" The French president emphasized that "at the very moment we talk about peace, [Russia] continues to kill and destroy."
