French President Emmanuel Macron said that the decision on whether Russia will be sanctioned if it does not agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine will be a "test of the credibility" of Donald Trump's US, Agence France-Presse reported, quoted by BTA.
"I spoke on the phone 48 hours ago with Donald Trump, who said that he was already losing patience. The question now is: what are we going to do? We (the Europeans – note by Agence France-Presse) are ready" and if Russia "confirms" that it is "not ready to make peace", Washington must confirm "the commitment" to sanction Moscow, the French leader told reporters in Singapore in the presence of Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, stressing that this is a "test of American credibility".
US President Donald Trump said a few days ago that Russian President Vladimir Putin was probably deliberately delaying ceasefire talks in Ukraine and expressed disappointment with Russian air strikes, Reuters reported.
"We'll find out whether he's trying to play us or not, and if he is, we'll respond a little differently," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
However, he showed hesitation regarding the possible imposition of new sanctions against Russia, Reuters notes. "If I think I'm close to a deal, I don't want to ruin it by doing this," the US president stressed.
Later today, Macron will give an opening speech at the "Shangri-La Dialogue", Asia's largest defense and security forum, which was also attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last year.
On May 10, the French president visited Kiev with European leaders from the so-called coalition of the willing. There, they threatened Russia with severe sanctions if it did not agree to an immediate ceasefire, a threat that has not yet been carried out, notes Agence France-Presse.