Ukraine continues working with partners to establish sustainable peace and reliable security guarantees. This was emphasized by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy after his meeting with President of France Emmanuel Macron in Paris.
The Ukrainian leader thanked France and Emmanuel Macron for their unwavering, highly principled and tangible support for Ukraine. In particular, for the provision of Mirage aircraft and a new defense package worth EUR 2 billion.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron coordinated their positions on the eve of the meeting of European leaders scheduled for Thursday in Paris at the initiative of the French President. The Ukrainian side expects that, in particular, it will lead to substantive, operational content of the discussion on security guarantees and the deployment of partner contingents in Ukraine.
“Right now, much can and must be done to ensure true security in Europe and stability for all our people. Together with France, together with all our partners in Europe and around the world. This is an important historic moment – it’s about how today’s generation of European leaders will shape the security system of Europe for decades to come,” the President of Ukraine emphasized.
He also reminded that recently, in Saudi Arabia, the delegations of Ukraine and the United States had discussed the ceasefire in the energy sector and in the Black Sea. However, there are still technical issues to be resolved, primarily the monitoring of this process.
“As for the Black Sea, the situation is more difficult: Moscow is trying to add conditions to an agreement that is meant to be unconditional. Therefore, we expect the American side to ensure that the principle of unconditional silence at sea is upheld,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted.
The parties separately discussed the need to increase pressure on Russia in order to achieve peace. The Ukrainian President stressed that sanctions against Russia must remain in force and be strengthened as long as Russian aggression continues.
In addition, the meeting addressed investments in Ukrainian arms production and the development of defense cooperation: from air defense to artillery. The leaders instructed the defense ministers to elaborate on this issue and ensure its implementation.
Emmanuel Macron pointed out that Ukraine, despite being the victim of aggression, supported the U.S. proposal for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.
“Although I see the temptation of the Russian side to rewrite, to reinterpret what has already been discussed or agreed upon by listing new conditions. And besides, Russia does not prove that it really wants peace, as day after day it continues to carry out intensive strikes on the territory of Ukraine, including on civilian objects,” he said.
According to the President of France, tomorrow's meeting of the leaders will focus on control, monitoring and support of the ceasefire regime, as well as security guarantees for Ukraine.
“Our goal is to enable Ukraine, firstly, to maintain the situation on the frontline, to repel aggression, but at the same time to bring closer the prospects of a lasting peace that we all seek. I want to assure you: France will continue its efforts, in coordination with the United States and in agreement with the Europeans,” Emmanuel Macron concluded.
