In his speech during the opening of a summit on peace in the Italian capital Rome , French President Emmanuel Macron considered that "peace is possible" in Ukraine when "it is

decided by Ukrainians", adding in a speech at the opening of the summit organized by the Catholic Society of Sant'egidio "we should not let peace be today in some form in the hands of the Russian power, peace is possible only when it is decided" by Ukrainians.

"We must not let peace somehow be in the hands of the Russian power today, peace is possible only when it is decided by the Ukrainians,"Macron added.

Macron defended Western support for Kiev, saying that "so that at some moment the Ukrainian people could choose peace as they had decided," according to Agence France-Presse.

He continued: "peace will be built with the other side, which is the enemy of today, around a table," in front of hundreds of political and religious officials who came from around the world to participate in this 3-day summit, organized by the Catholic Society of Sant'egidio.

The French president arrived in Rome on Sunday afternoon, and Pope Francis will receive him on Monday morning at the Vatican. It is the third meeting between Macron and the pontiff since the first was elected in 2017.

Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine in February, Macron has been keen to communicate with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, unlike other Western officials, especially US President Joe Biden.

On Friday, in Brussels, he renewed the call for Kiev and Moscow to return to the negotiating table when it becomes "acceptable" to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but also "as soon as possible".