UKRAINE - Will Emmanuel Macron travel to Ukraine like British Prime Minister Boris Johnson or European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen? "Not in the next few days", replied Clément Beaune on Sud Radio on Monday 18 April.
Although the Head of State has had numerous telephone conversations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, he has not visited Ukraine, unlike some of his European counterparts. But for the Secretary of State for European Affairs, a visit before the second round of the presidential election on Sunday 24 April "would no doubt be misinterpreted".
But Emmanuel Macron is expected to be there. In an interview broadcast on Sunday by CNN, Volodymyr Zelensky said that he had invited his French counterpart to meet him in Ukraine. This invitation follows Emmanuel Macron's reluctance to describe what has been happening in the country since the Russian invasion on 24 February as "genocide".
Emmanuel Macron in Ukraine "if it's useful".
"I told him that I wanted him to understand that this is not a war, that this is nothing other than genocide. I invited him to come when he had the chance," said Volodymyr Zelensky. "He will come, and he will see, and I am sure he will understand."
For his part, Clément Beaune stated that "the President of the Republic, as President of the Republic, has always been very clear: he may go, if it is useful (...) We cannot make a visit that is merely symbolic, it must be a visit that has an impact". In the meantime," says Clément Beaune, "our support is very, very clear, and involves military and humanitarian aid.
Speaking to CNN, the Ukrainian president also said that he would like US President Joe Biden to come to Ukraine, after his surprise claim that Russian forces were committing "genocide". "The decision is his, of course, it depends on the security situation. But I think he is the leader of the United States and for that he should come and see."
Text by Le HuffPost
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