France on Monday said a plan for a one-month truce between Russia and Ukraine would test Moscow's commitment to ending the war it began with its 2022 invasion.
A day after European leaders rallied around Ukraine at a summit in London after the White House spat between Donald Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot also warned that the Ukraine "front line keeps getting closer to us".
French President Emmanuel Macron said after the London talks that France and Britain were proposing a one-month truce in Ukraine "in the air, at sea and on energy infrastructure" although not, initially at least, covering ground fighting.
Such a move "would allow to prove the good will of (Russian President) Vladimir Putin if he commits to a truce," Barrot told France Inter radio.
"And it's then that real peace negotiations would start. We want a solid peace and a durable peace," he added.
In an initial phase it is "a way of verifying that Russia is willing to end this war," Barrot said, emphasising that no withdrawal of Russian troops on the ground was envisaged during the truce.
While Macron's attendance at the London summit called by Prime Minister Keir Starmer has placed Franco-British cooperation at the heart of the search for peace, UK armed forces minister Luke Pollard said "no agreement has been made on what a truce looks like".
"But we are working together with France and our European allies to look at what is the path to how... we create a lasting and durable peace in Ukraine," Pollard told Times Radio.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a UK government official added: "There are various options on the table, subject to further discussions with the US and European partners but a one-month truce has not been agreed."
Friedrich Merz, the right-wing politician set to be Germany's next chancellor after last month's elections, meanwhile thanked Starmer for "your leadership to bring a lasting and just peace" to Ukraine.
"We have to remain united in our goal to end Russia's war of aggression," he added on X.
Asked by France Inter to respond to Trump's accusation that Zelensky was "gambling with World War III", Barrot acknowledged the danger of the conflict spreading.
"Never has the risk of a war in Europe, in the European Union been so high... the threat keeps getting closer to us, the front line keeps getting closer to us," he said.
"To end the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, we want the United States, through pressure, to be able to bring Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table and agree to put an end once and for all to his imperialist ambitions which have moved the front line closer and closer to home," Barrot added.
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