TOULON: Russian Pre­sident Vladimir Putin will have “played” his US cou­nterpart if the Kremlin chief fails to meet Ukr­ainian President Volod­ymyr Zelensky, Emm­a­n­uel Macron of France said on Friday.

President Macron exp­ressed hope that such a meeting would take place, but said if the Russian leader did not meet a Monday deadline to agree to the talks “it will show again President Putin has played President Trump”, and warned that France would push for new “primary and secondary sanctions” to pressure Moscow.

His comments came as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict sparked by Russia’s 2022 invasion of its neighbour appear to have lost steam after Trump moved to restore dialogue with Moscow.

“I think this is not a good thing for us all. This cannot stay without resp­onse,” Macron said after talks with German Chan­cellor Friedrich Merz.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2025