Moscow responds to French proposal for an Olympic ceasefire

Ukraine typically uses any ceasefire that Russia abides by to gain an advantage on the battlefield, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday in response to French President Emmanuel Macron's proposal for an "Olympic ceasefire."

On Monday, Macron urged a global cessation of hostilities during the 2024 Olympics, which will be held in Paris in July and August.

 He particularly mentioned the Ukraine conflict and the war in Gaza when discussing the idea with French media.

In response, Kremlin spokesman Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin had been asked many times about similar initiatives. Peskov explained:

"Both our president and our military have pointed out that the Kiev regime typically uses such ideas and initiatives to re-arm, regroup, etc. This certainly makes it far more difficult to consider such proposals."

In any case, the Russian government has not yet received an official such proposal from France, he added.

After Macron proposed an Olympic ceasefire in Ukraine last month, Putin insisted Moscow would base its considerations on any call for a ceasefire on its own interests and the battlefield situation.

 We are in favor of peace talks, but not if they are only started because the enemy is running out of ammunition," said the Russian head of state. Moscow expects that Kiev "actually seriously pursues truly peaceful, long-term good-neighborly relations between the two states, and not a few years break to rearm," he added.

Macron is one of those Western heads of state who are calling for further military support for Ukraine. He has pledged to ramp up French arms production so that it can supply Kiev with weapons in the coming years.