French President Emmanuel Macron called on Monday, August 18, for increased sanctions against Russia if its leader Vladimir Putin does not advance peace with Ukraine.
“President Trump believes we can reach an agreement and thinks that President Putin also desires a peace accord,” Macron told reporters after discussions at the White House.
“But if ultimately this process is met with refusal, we are also prepared to state that sanctions need to be increased.”
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He referred to recent secondary sanctions imposed by the Trump administration on India, which has become a significant buyer of Russian energy as Western nations reduce purchases due to sanctions following Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The secondary sanctions on India have “had a lot of effects,” Macron noted.
Trump invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House three days after the US president hosted Putin for talks in Alaska.
Over the weekend, Trump publicly pressured Ukraine to concede territory again, aligning with Putin and not Zelensky, who has insisted on defending all territories seized by Russia.
When asked by reporters if Trump had mentioned that concessions were necessary before any US security guarantees to Ukraine, Macron said, “No, that wasn’t discussed at all. We’re far from that.”
He mentioned that Trump and the European leaders also concurred that there should be no restrictions on the size of Ukraine’s military in any future deal with Russia.
All the leaders meeting in Washington support a “robust Ukrainian army that can resist any attempted attack.”
Macron expressed hope that Russia and Ukraine would resume contact “in the coming days” with a potential three-way summit involving Trump, Putin, and Zelensky “in two to three weeks.”
