"United States considers escalation of threats against Russia"

French president Emmanuel Macron has declared that he will "increase the pressure" on Russia in the coming days in order for it to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine.

In an interview with the magazine Paris Match, Mr Macron said he had spoken to the American president Donald Trump to show more firmness towards Moscow.

"The next fifteen days will be decisive in trying to implement the ceasefire," he said. The ceasefire was proposed by the United States and has so far been accepted by Ukraine, but not by Russia. Mr Macron said he was convinced that the United States could launch "an escalation of threats", including "potentially sanctions", to try to convince the Kremlin.

In the interview, he also referred to the brief meeting in St Peter's Basilica, last Saturday, at Pope Francis's funeral, with the presidents Donald Trump and Volodymir Zelensky and the Prime Minister Keir Starmer. "We managed, thanks to this conversation at the Vatican, to put pressure back on Russia," affirmed the French president.

(MH with FM - Source: Paris Match - Photo: © DPA - Anadolu - Celal Gunes)