Spanish
Bangkok, May 26 (EFE).- French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that he thinks his American counterpart, Donald Trump, "has realized" that Russian leader Vladimir Putin "has lied" about being ready for peace in Ukraine.
"I think Trump has realized that what Putin said on the phone (...), that he was ready for peace, he lied to them," Macron said in statements to the media from Hanoi, where he has begun a tour of Southeast Asia.
The "priority" for France, Macron added, is "a ceasefire as long-lasting as possible" in Ukraine, which allows for negotiations for a "robust and lasting peace" in Europe and in coordination with the U.S. and other partners.
His statements come after Trump said today that Putin has "gone completely crazy" following Russia's latest offensive on Ukraine, a week after the U.S. leader indicated that both countries would immediately begin negotiations for a ceasefire after speaking with Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Macron, who has begun a tour in Vietnam that will also take him to Indonesia and Singapore this week, urged to take "massive retaliation" against Putin, to be carried out through sanctions. "What has happened in the last few hours is very serious. Putin has lied to the Europeans and Americans," he emphasized.
Trump, for his part, criticized Russia's latest massive attacks against Ukraine and said he is considering imposing sanctions on Moscow.
The bombings of Ukraine on Sunday left at least 12 dead and 79 injured, after Russia launched hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles on the last day of the process of exchanging 1,000 prisoners from each of the opposing sides, agreed last week in Istanbul.
Russia also launched during the night and this morning the third consecutive massive attack against Ukraine, in which it used nine Kh-101 cruise missiles and 355 drones, including unmanned aerial attack vehicles and replicas that the Russians use to confuse the enemy, according to the report this Monday from the Ukrainian Air Force.
