Zelensky rejects French President’s idea of Olympic truce

According to Zelensky, Kiev does not believe in the idea of an Olympic truce as it would “play into the enemy’s hands”.

Vladimir Zelensky, the strongman of Ukrainian has rejected French President Emmanuel Macron’s idea of a truce during the upcoming Paris Olympic Games in an interview with Agence France-Presse (AFP).

According to Zelensky, Kiev 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.

Earlier, the Ukrainian president 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.