Ukrainian president rejects Olympic truce

Zelenzky told Agence France-Presse (AFP) in an interview, that he does not believe in the idea of an Olympic truce as it would “play into the enemy’s hands”. (File Photo: @ZelenskyyUa/Twitter)

PARIS – Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has rejected French leader Emmanuel Macron’s idea of a truce during the upcoming Paris Olympic Games.

Zelenzky told Agence France-Presse (AFP) in an interview, that he does not believe in the idea of an Olympic truce as it would “play into the enemy’s hands”.

“Who can guarantee that Russia will not use this time to bring its forces to our territory?” Zelensky said.

He earlier described Macron’s initiative as a “dead story.”

The French president’s idea of an Olympic truce was discussed by President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Xi Jinping of China during the Russian leader’s visit to China.

Commenting on Macron’s initiative, Putin said that the Olympic principles are “a very good thing,” but international sports officials are violating these principles by suspending Russia from competitions.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov pointed out earlier that Moscow had not received any official proposals from Paris concerning an Olympic truce.

He added that Kiev tended to take advantage of such initiatives to regroup and rearm troops. (TASS)