Kremlin blasts Macron plan for European peacekeepers in Ukraine

MOSCOW: The Kremlin on Friday criticised Emmanuel Macron, a day after the French president said plans to send a peacekeeping force to Ukraine were “ready” should Moscow and Kyiv agree to an elusive ceasefire, AFP reported.

“The presence of foreign troops near our borders is unacceptable to us,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, accusing European leaders of a “pattern of militaristic anti-Russian sentiment”.

On the other hand, Reuters quoted Peskov as saying that Russia is awaiting the “major statement” that US President Donald Trump announced he would deliver on Monday.

Trump told NBC News on Thursday that he will make a “major statement” on Russia on Monday, without elaborating what it will be about.

In recent days, Trump has expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Russia-Ukraine conflict.

When asked about the new NATO weapons deliveries to Ukraine, Peskov called it “just business” as Kyiv had already been receiving weapons prior to this development.

EVERYBODY IS TIRED OF WAR

Fatigue over the war in Ukraine and US-led foreign aid cuts are jeopardizing efforts to support people fleeing hardship, the head of the UN migration agency warned in an interview on Friday.

International Organization for Migration (IOM) Director General Amy Pope was speaking a day after a Ukraine recovery conference in Rome mobilised over 10 billion euros ($11.69 billion) for the country.

“It’s three-and-a-half years into the conflict. I think it’s fair to say that everybody is tired, and we hear that even from Ukrainians who’ve been experiencing the ongoing attacks in their cities and often have been displaced multiple times,” she told Reuters.

“The response to it, though, has to be peace, because ultimately, without peace, there won’t be an end, not only to the funding request, but also to the support for the Ukrainian people.”

Russia’s invasion has triggered Europe’s biggest refugee this century, with 5.6 million Ukrainian refugees globally and 3.8 million uprooted in their country, according to UN data.

The IOM and other UN agencies are hampered by major funding shortages as U.S. President Donald Trump slashes foreign aid and European donors like Britain shift funds from development to defence.

U.S. decisions will give the IOM a $1 billion shortfall this year, Pope said, saying budget reductions should be phased gradually or else Trump and others risk stoking even worse migration crises.

“It doesn’t work to have provided assistance and then just walk away and leave nothing. And what we see happening when support falls is that people move again … So (the cuts) can ultimately have a backlash,” she said.