The Summer Olympics in Paris begin today without the much-anticipated French President Emmanuel Macron Olympic truce, summarizes France Press, quoted by BTA.
Until recently, the head of state tried to achieve a ceasefire in the many conflicts of the planet, while the Olympic Games are taking place in Paris. He has been talking about it for months and was even happy to receive support in this direction from Chinese President Xi Jinping during his state visit to France in May.
At the time, French diplomats hoped to use this Olympic truce to start a process of political negotiations regarding Ukraine. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky clearly rejected this possibility, notes AFP.
On Monday, Macron mentioned to the International Olympic Committee his intention to try to reach a truce in the several military conflicts around the world.
According to several diplomatic sources at the time, Macron thought he could persuade the presidents of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, Felix Tshisekedi and Paul Kagame, to meet in Paris to find a solution to the conflict between their two countries. But the DR Congo leader did not come to Paris in the end.
Today shortly before receiving at the Elysee Palace some 85 heads of state and government who will then attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, President Macron spoke privately with his Israeli counterpart Yitzhak Herzog to urge Israel to accept an agreement with "Hamas" for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
But this call also has little chance of succeeding, just as US efforts in this direction have failed so far, the agency notes.