Zelensky Reiterates His Ten Demands For Peace During Phone Call with Macron

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he reiterated his ten-step "peace formula" during a phone call with French President Emanuel Macron ahead of a Group of Seven summit.

Zelensky wrote on his Telegram channel on Sunday that he and Macron had "synchronized positions" as Russia's nine-month war in Ukraine continues.

"Had a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron," he wrote.

"Synchronized positions on the eve of the G7 online summit and the Ukraine support conference in Paris. We discussed the implementation of our ten-step peace formula, cooperation on defense and energy stability of Ukraine."

In posts on Twitter on Sunday, Macron did not reference Zelensky's plan but said they had discussed the organization of the conferences that France will be hosting on Tuesday.

"Firstly, the international aid conference on getting Ukraine through the winter; and secondly, the conference with French firms that will help rebuild the country," Macron said.

Ukraine "can count on France's support for as long as it takes to fully regain its sovereignty and territorial integrity," Macron added in tweets written in English, French and Ukrainian.

It comes after Macron was rebuked by Ukrainian and eastern European officials after suggesting the West should consider Russia's need for security guarantees if Moscow agreed to talks to end the war.

"We need to prepare what we are ready to do, how we protect our allies and member states, and how to give guarantees to Russia the day it returns to the negotiating table," the French president said.

"Russia doesn't need security guarantees, it has violated all security guarantees—including the Budapest Memorandum," Oleksandr Merezhko, the chair of the Ukrainian parliament's foreign affairs committee, told Newsweek earlier this week. "It is Ukraine and other neighbors of Russia who need guarantees."

Zelensky had outlined his ten-point peace plan during a virtual address to world leaders at the Group of 20 summit in Indonesia in November.

"I am convinced now is the time when the Russian destructive war must and can be stopped," Zelensky told the leaders of the world's biggest economies, according to a transcript of his speech.

The ten steps he outlined are: radiation and nuclear safety; food security; energy security; release of all prisoners and deported persons; implementation of the UN Charter and restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity and the world order; withdrawal of Russian troops and cessation of hostilities; restoration of justice; countering ecocide; preventing escalation; and finally, confirmation of the end of the war.

The plan would "save thousands of lives," Zelensky added in the speech.

"It will restore the validity of international law. It will revitalize the security architecture. It will return the global stability, without which the whole world is suffering. In essence– this is what the honest countries of the world are cooperating for."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is seen during a meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Ukraine's capital Kyiv on November 19, 2022. Ukrainian Presidency via Getty Images

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