The movement in Ukraine of the Minister of Foreign Affairs is the first of a French leader since the start of the Russian offensive.
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The surprise was well kept: Catherine Colonna, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, went to kyiv on Monday, May 30, for a first visit to the Ukrainian capital from a French leader since the outbreak of Russian invasion. Neither Emmanuel Macron, however long awaited, nor the predecessor of M me colonna, Jean-Yves Le Drian, have made the trip since the start of hostilities, on February 24, unlike number of their European counterparts. A little more than a week after its entry into office, the head of diplomacy wanted to “testify to the solidarity of France with regard to the Ukrainian people and its full determination to strengthen its support for Ukraine Face Russian assault “both humanitarian, financial and military levels, the Quai d’Orsay said at the start of the morning.
Arrival in the early morning train in the Ukrainian capital, after a flight between Paris and Polish airport in Rzeszow, M me colonna first praised “the memory of the victims of war “In the martyred city of Boutcha, where civilians murdered by Russian troops were discovered at the end of March, when they abandoned the surroundings of kyiv, which they occupied in their vain attempt to take control of the capital. Paris then dispatched a team of investigators on the spot, in order to shed light on these alleged war crimes, in connection with the Ukrainian prosecution. The Minister was to give the Ukrainian authorities to the Ukrainian civil security equipment, fire trucks and ambulances, transported in recent weeks from France.
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The chief of French diplomacy was also to meet in the early afternoon with his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, before meeting the president, Volodyr Zelensky. This trip occurs while relationships have been tense in recent weeks between Paris and kyiv, despite regular contact at the highest level. In April, after the atrocities of Boutcha, the Ukrainian leaders first surprised that Emmanuel Macron did not take over, unlike the American president, Joe Biden, the accusations of “genocide” perpetrated according to them by the Russians, also qualified as “brother people” of Ukraine by the Head of State.
kyiv then reacted harshly to the project of “European political community” proposed by Emmanuel Macron, on May 9 in Strasbourg, inciting the Elysée to hammer, since, that it is not a substitute for the ‘Membership of the European Union (EU). French officials had to explain that the device sought to “secure” the Union the countries aspiring to enter it, without precipitating an enlargement likely to last “several decades” for Ukraine, according to the Elysée. According to our information, kyiv in fact conditions the establishment of this kind of “Confederation” to obtain, by the end of June, from the status of candidate for the EU. While the countries of central and eastern Europe argue for rapid expansion, Germany is reserved for the status – first formal step before possible membership negotiations. An opinion of the European Commission is expected by June 15. As for France, it is committed to discussing the question by the European Council on June 23 and 24.
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