Macron says Ukrainians will decide when peace is possible

Emmanuel Macron walks on stage for a speech during the international peace summit ‘The Cry for Peace,’ organized by the Italian Catholic Community of Sant’Egidio, Rome, Italy, Oct. 23, 2022. (AFP)

• Emmanuel Macron has differed from other Western leaders in pushing to keep talks open with Vladimir Putin
• Macron also justified Western support for Kyiv ‘so that at some point the Ukrainian people can choose peace’

ROME: French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday that Ukrainians will decide when peace is possible, speaking at the start of a peace summit in Rome.
Since the beginning of the conflict in February, Macron has differed from other Western leaders in pushing to keep talks open with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
“Let’s not let peace be hostage to Russian power,” Macron said during a speech at the start of the gathering organized by the Community of Sant’Egidio, a Catholic charity based in Rome.
“Peace is possible, but only they (Ukrainians) will decide when they decide it.”
“Peace will be built with the other, who is today’s enemy, around a table,” he said at the summit in front of hundreds of political and religious leaders from around the world.
Macron also justified Western support for Kyiv “so that at some point the Ukrainian people can choose peace... in the terms they will have decided.”