Russia says Franco-British initiative is bid to buy time for Ukraine

Russia said on Thursday that a French and British peace initiative on Ukraine was a bid to buy time for Kyiv and prevent its military collapse. French President Emmanuel Macron said the two countries were proposing a partial one-month truce between Russia and Ukraine.

Russia said on Thursday that a French and British peace initiative on Ukraine was a bid to buy time for Kyiv and prevent its military collapse. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow was interested in a definitive settlement to end the war, not a respite that she said would help Ukraine.

"Firm agreements on a final settlement are necessary. Without all this, any respite or regrouping is absolutely unacceptable, as it will lead to exactly the opposite result," she told reporters. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said at the weekend that London and Paris would work on a peace deal with Ukraine and present it to U.S. President Donald Trump. French President Emmanuel Macron said the two countries were proposing a partial one-month truce between Russia and Ukraine.