French President Macron wrote today (on April 27, Beijing time): "Today, I had a very positive exchange with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in Rome. Ending the war in Ukraine is our common goal with former President Trump. Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire. President Zelenskyy reiterated this point to me today. He hopes to work together with the United States and Europe to achieve this goal. Now, President Putin must prove that he genuinely desires peace. We will continue to make efforts within the framework of the 'voluntary coalition' established in Paris last March to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine and comprehensive and lasting peace." [Clever] Comment: Macron has always hoped to play a key role in the peaceful resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. However, in terms of international influence and actual participation, France clearly lags behind the United States and the United Kingdom. Judging from the scale of military aid to Ukraine, France also falls far short of the US and UK. Yesterday, many media outlets released photos of Trump and Zelenskyy's meeting before the funeral of Pope Francis, while Macron, who was already seated, was refused by Trump to participate in the talks with Zelenskyy. This scene highlights France's relatively marginal position in handling the Russia-Ukraine conflict affairs. Macron now attempts to exert pressure on Putin, but such unilateral diplomatic efforts may yield little effect. After all, targets that cannot be achieved on the battlefield, even with support from Europe, are unlikely to be easily realized through diplomatic negotiations.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1830514373496839/
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