Putin is ‘determined’ to achieve his goal in Ukraine, says French official

The Russian President’s State of Mind, Vladimir Putinremains “determined”, said a source after a phone call this Saturday (12) between the French president Emmanuel Macronthe German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Putin.

The source of the presidency french said that since the three leaders last spoke on Thursday (10), Putin still appeared to be “determined to achieve his goals in the Ukraine“, but that the fact that he continues to speak to the French and German leaders suggests that “he does not rule out the possibility of a diplomatic solution altogether.”

Also this Saturday, before the call, the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky asked Macron to pressure Putin for a ceasefire and raise the issue of the detention of the mayor of Melitopol. The source said Macron and Scholz did this.

“We call for an immediate ceasefire,” the source said, “and the start of negotiations on three points: security issues, those relating to Ukrainian sovereignty and, thirdly, the issues recently raised by Ukraine and by Russia”.

Further sanctions are being planned both by the G7 how much for European Union, said the source. The new European sanctions will be discussed next week in Brussels.

Asked about the possibility of European sanctions on Russian energy exports, the source repeated what Macron had said at the leader’s summit in Versailles on Friday (11): that nothing was “taboo”, with no option off the table.