Emmanuel Macron has said he doesn’t believe Russian President Vladimir Putin is “very willing to get peace” in Ukraine. The French President revealed his scepticism in an interview with NBC News on Monday, after high-stakes talks were held at the White House.

Ukraine’s Donbas region, consisting of Donetsk and Luhansk, is at the heart of Moscow’s goals. An industrial powerhouse in the Soviet era, it also has rich farmland, important rivers and a coastline on the Sea of Azov.