FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL Macron has said that if a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy does not take place, it will show that US President Donald Trump has been “played” by the Russian leader once again.

Macron expressed hope that such a meeting would take place, but said if Putin did not meet a Monday deadline to agree to the talks “it will show again President Putin has played President Trump”.

He also warned that France would push for new “primary and secondary sanctions” to pressure Moscow if that turns out to be the case. 

His comments came as diplomatic efforts to end the three-and-a-half-year conflict sparked by Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of its neighbour appear to have lost steam after Trump moved to restore dialogue with Moscow at the start of his second presidency.

Trump hosted Putin with a red carpet reception in Alaska earlier this month, which did not produce any concrete resolutions, and even saw Trump reverse course on the demands he had made prior to the meeting.

One thing to come out of the meeting was an announcement from Trump that the Ukrainian and Russian presidents would meet at a joint summit. 

That prospect was jeopardised by a deadly Russian attack on Kyiv yesterday that killed 23 people.  

Today, Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv that he expected “several meetings at different venues” with European leaders next week, aimed at further pressuring Russia into ending the war. 

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov reiterated Moscow’s long-held position today that Putin “doesn’t rule out” meeting Zelensky, but only after progress is made “at the expert level”.

A summit “must be well prepared so that it can finalise the work that must first be carried out at the expert level,” Peskov said.

“At this point we can’t say that the expert work is in full swing, so to speak. No, unfortunately, not. We maintain our interest and our readiness for these negotiations,” he said.

In his statement today, Macron criticised Putin’s delay in confirming his participation in a meeting with Zelenskyy.

“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 in the south of France, saying they would both have new telephone talks with Trump at the weekend.

Yesterday, Merz said it was “obvious” that the meeting would not go ahead. 

Macron also showed no regret for describing Putin earlier this month as an “ogre at our gates”, comments which angered Moscow.

“We say there is an ogre at the gates of Europe… this is very much what the Georgians (after a 2008 invasion) and Ukrainians and many other nations feel very deeply,” he said.

“That is a man who has decided to go down an authoritarian path and impose imperialism to change international frontiers.”

After deadly drone and missile attacks on Kyiv on Thursday, Macron also warned that Putin had a habit of saying one thing at international talks and then acting differently.

“The gap between President Putin’s positions at international summits and the reality on the ground shows how insincere he is,” he said.

Merz said that Russia’s war against Ukraine could yet go on for “many more months”, adding that he had “no illusions” about the prospects of a swift conclusion.

He vowed that “we will not abandon Ukraine” but said it looked like Putin was showing “no readiness” to meet with Zelenskyy.

“To be frank that does not surprise me as this is part of this Russian president’s strategy,” Merz said.

With reporting from AFP and Press Association