In this photo French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during the international peace summit The Cry for Peace , organised by the Italian Catholic Community of Sant Egidio, in Rome, on October 23, 2022. AFP
Since the beginning of the conflict in February, Macron has differed from other Western leaders in pushing to keep talks open with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
"Let's not let peace be hostage to Russian power," Macron said during a speech at the start of the gathering organised by the Community of Sant'Egidio, a Catholic charity based in Rome.
"Peace is possible, but only they (Ukrainians) will decide when they decide it.
"Peace will be built with the other, who is today's enemy, around a table," he said at the summit in front of hundreds of political and religious leaders from around the world.
Macron has faced criticism over his repeated calls to negotiate with Putin.
He acknowledged that "calling for peace today can be unbearable for those who fight for their freedom, and give them the feeling of being somehow betrayed".
But he insisted it was necessary to have the "courage" to want it, even if "imagining peace in times of war" is "the most unthinkable of things".
But it should not be achieved by adopting "the law of the strongest".
He justified Western support for Kyiv "so that at some point the Ukrainian people can choose peace... in the terms they will have decided".
Macron arrived in Rome on Sunday afternoon, and will meet newly appointed Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in the evening, his office said.
That will make him the first foreign leader to hold direct talks with the far-right politician since she took office on Saturday.
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