France & Germany advocate early ceasefire in Ukraine; call for new European body

European superpowers Germany and France want an early ceasefire in Ukraine that will allow the negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow to conclude to achieve peace, French President Emmanuel Macron said as he spoke to his German counterpart, Olaf Scholz. Till now, the warring sides have held five rounds of talks but failed to achieve a definite ceasefire. On Monday, Macron proposed that he was ready to assist the Zelenskyy administration in the negotiation. 

"What we want to achieve is an early cease-fire that will allow bringing to an end the negotiations that have begun between the delegations of Russia and Ukraine to achieve peace and a sustainable withdrawal of Russian troops. That is our goal. We want to help Ukraine negotiate on the terms it will determine," Macron said during a press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, adding that the only way to achieve peace is "at a negotiating table with both Russia and Ukraine taking part."

Formation of European Political Community

While Kyiv has not been accepted into the 27-member European Union yet, the French president said that he would, along with Scholz, discuss with Zelenskyy the formation of a discrete ‘European Political Community’ that would accept Ukraine fast. Previously, Macron had touted that it could take years for the EU to accept Ukraine given its high accession standards.

On Monday, both Russia and Ukraine celebrated Victory Day marking the triumph of the allied coalition over Nazi Germany. While Zelenskyy’s speech largely focussed on the ongoing war, Putin failed to even mention the word Ukraine. On the ground, the intense fight raged in Ukraine's east as the vital port of Odessa came under attack. 

Meanwhile, Ukraine claimed that Russian forces have increased the number of missile carriers in the Black Sea. The Ukrainian armed forces on May 4, had said that Russia had three missile carriers present in the Black Sea, The Kyiv Independent reported. However, Ukraine's Defence Ministry has reported that Russia has 7 Kalibr missile carriers in the Black Sea. The war has now continued for the 11th week. 

(Image: AP)