Macron: France and Britain propose a month-long ceasefire in Ukraine "in the air, at sea, and for infrastructure."

France and the United Kingdom are proposing a one-month ceasefire in Ukraine "in the air, at sea, and for energy infrastructure." The halt in hostilities will not apply to ground battles.

This was stated by French President Emmanuel Macron in an interview with Le Figaro on Sunday following "crisis negotiations" at the summit in London.

The proposal concerns a temporary cessation of strikes from the air and sea on the civilian infrastructure of cities. Compliance with this type of ceasefire can be easily monitored, Macron explained.

Additionally, he suggested that European countries increase their defense spending to 3.0–3.5% of GDP to respond to the changing priorities of Washington, which is refusing to allocate resources for military support to Europe.

“For the last three years, the Russians have spent 10% of their GDP on defense,” the president noted. “So we must prepare for what comes next.”

“In the coming weeks, there will be no European troops on Ukrainian soil,” Macron assured.

The anticipated cessation of hostilities will initially not affect ground battles, he clarified. Because “in the event of a ceasefire, it will be very difficult to verify whether the front (on the ground) is adhering to the truce,” the president explained, noting that the frontline is vast, “equivalent to the line from Paris to Budapest.”

The possibility of deploying European troops, with France and the United Kingdom ready to participate, will only arise at a later stage, he continued.

For Macron, “the question is how we will use this time (of the ceasefire) to try to achieve a viable peace through negotiations that will last several weeks, and then, when peace is signed, the deployment of troops.”

“We want peace. But we do not want peace at any cost, without guarantees of security,” Macron emphasized.

Earlier that day, on the eve of the Ukraine summit in London, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that Paris and London are working on a “plan” for a cessation of hostilities.

UPDATED. Regarding the proposal for a one-month ceasefire “in the air, at sea, and in energy infrastructure” with Russia, suggested by Paris and London, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky assured that he “knows” about this option but did not provide further comments, as reported by Le Monde.

Background. Recall that earlier Starmer stated that the United Kingdom, together with France and Kyiv, would present a peace plan to Washington. In addition to the UK and France, one or two other countries will be involved in the peace plan, he said.