On Romania Visit France's Macron Calls For UKR-RUS Talks

Kim Wilisher from The Guardian tweets on French President Emmanuel Macron's joint presser with Romanian counterpart Klaus Iohannis. Large focus on Ukraine, select comments below:

• "[Macron]...we want to build peace, which means we all want the fire to stop at some point and discussions to resume."
• To clarify widespread criticism of his comment that Russia should not be humiliated, he added that he had said this to Ukrainian president Zelensky [who] "perfectly understood..."
• Still Macron speaking: "It (Russia) is there today, it was there yesterday, it will be there tomorrow. And Russia is an established power. So I have never shared the view that says today we are waging war on the Russian people and tomorrow we want to annihilate them, because that this is what is sometimes said. No, because at some point, when we have helped them to resist as much as possible, when - I hope - Ukraine has won, and above all the fighting has stopped, we must negotiate, the Ukrainian President and his leaders must negotiate with Russia. And we Europeans will be at the table to provide security guarantees..."
• Journalist reminds Macron that he said he'd go to Kyiv when he considered it "useful" to go. Is he going tomorrow as some of the European press has said. Macron gives a long and convoluted response but we are none the wiser about when he might go to Ukraine.
• Macron then said: "But the difficulty that we are all faced with [...] is that we denounce, we sanction, we support the Ukrainians so that they fight, but in the end, let's be clear that we are not waging war. [...] And so the only desirable outcome of the conflict is either a military victory for Ukraine or, at some point, a discussion when the fighting has ceased which allows an agreement between Ukraine and Russia...So at some point there will have to be talks. That is what I am saying. I think this is common sense." He says he is struck by the "verbal escalation" that has occurred over this.