Dispute with the USA

Due to “uncertainty”: Macron announces speech

Macron is positioning himself as a mediator.

(Bild: Justin Tallis/Pool via AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced his intention to address his nation on Wednesday evening. It will be about the troubled transatlantic relationship - and the steps that need to be taken now.

According to the French government, it is working on restoring relations between the USA and Ukraine in order to achieve lasting and stable peace. "We have proposed a ceasefire," government spokeswoman Sophie Primas told the LCI television station. "This is being examined as part of the negotiations with the USA. France and Europe are trying to re-establish the link between the United States and Ukraine."

According to President Emmanuel Macron, France and the UK have proposed a partial ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine for one month. According to the French President, this is part of European diplomatic efforts to strengthen Western support for Ukraine.

This was preceded by a scandal in the White House between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi on the one hand and US President Donald Trump and his Vice President James Vance on the other. The USA has also suspended military aid for Ukraine.

Macron addresses the nation
On Wednesday morning, President Macron announced a speech to the people of his country for the evening. "In this moment of uncertainty, when the world is facing major challenges, I will address you this evening," Macron wrote on the X platform. The speech is scheduled for 20:00 (CET).

British Defense Secretary John Healey will meet with his US counterpart Pete Hegseth in Washington on Thursday to discuss a peace plan for Ukraine, according to British sources. "We will be taking this work forward in Washington in the coming days," said Healey.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had emphasized that he wanted to continue talking to allies in order to find a way to achieve lasting peace in the Ukraine war. Following the public dispute between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyi, Starmer convened and held a summit meeting of European heads of state and government in London on Sunday.

Lukashenko also wants a say
Meanwhile, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian head of state Vladimir Putin, has put himself forward as the host of peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. In an interview with blogger Mario Nawfal published on Wednesday, he invited US President Trump, Selensky and Putin to talks in Minsk.

"We will sit down and calmly come to an agreement. If you want to reach an agreement," said Lukashenko. According to the Belarusian news agency Belta, the interview was recorded on February 27. In his State of the Union address to the US Congress on Wednesday night, US President Donald Trump said that he had received a letter from Zelenskyi in which he had declared his willingness to negotiate a "lasting peace".