Moscow's peace initiative strikes a blow to the warmongers in the EU, Florian Philippot has said

Russian President Vladimir Putin's proposal to re-start peace talks with Ukraine without preconditions is timely and well thought out, the leader of France's Patriots party, Florian Philippot, told RIA Novosti on Sunday. The initiative supports the building momentum toward finding a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine conflict and "strikes a blow to the warmongers in the EU" who want the hostilities to continue, he added.

On Saturday, Putin proposed restarting direct negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul. Kiev unilaterally abandoned the talks in 2022. Moscow is ready to get back to the negotiating table without any preconditions, the Russian leader said.

"I believe it is a very well thought out [initiative]," Philippot told RIA. "We will never find a solution [to the conflict] if we avoid fundamental issues that affected relations between Russia and Ukraine for many years and even decades before [the start of the Ukraine conflict escalation in] 2022."

The politician nevertheless warned that Kiev's Western backers are likely to exert strong pressure on Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky to reject Russia's proposal and make any talks "impossible." According to Philippot, Moscow's offer "strikes a blow" to all the "warmongers" in the EU, including French President Emmanuel Macron.

Macron, as well as Germany's new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, are only "pretending to be the proponents of peace" while seeking to keep relations with Russia tense and "do everything" to rekindle the flames of war.

Philippot also took to X and YouTube on Sunday to express his support for the Russian peace initiative and criticize Macron and other EU leaders. "Let the peace negotiations continue!" he wrote on the social media, calling on Macron, Merz, Starmer and EU Commission head Ursula von der Leyen to "be stopped."

Earlier on Sunday, Zelensky demanded that Russia agree to Kiev's unconditional 30-day ceasefire demand before Ukraine agrees to any talks. He also put forward a similar demand on Saturday, following a meeting with European leaders, including Macron, Merz and Starmer, in Kiev. The Kremlin rejected what it described as external pressure surrounding the proposed truce.