French President Emmanuel Macron has again postponed his official visit to Ukraine, but it should take place in the coming weeks, his presidential office said on Sunday, citing Reuters.
Macron initially said he planned to travel to Kyiv in February to sign a bilateral security agreement with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyi. But the visit was postponed, and in the end Zelensky went to Paris to sign the agreement.
French diplomats later said that a second date for the visit had been set for early March, but that has now also been postponed.
“The heads of the two states agreed to remain in close contact regarding the president’s visit to Ukraine, which should take place in the coming weeks,” the French presidency announced on Sunday evening after the telephone conversation between Macron and Zelensky.
Reuters notes that the new delay comes just days after a Russian missile landed near a Greek delegation visiting the port city of Odesa last week, where Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met Volodymyr Zelensky.
Macron is expected to visit Odesa during his visit to Ukraine
According to the itinerary of Macron’s visit distributed by French diplomacy, the leader from the Elysee Palace was to visit this large city on the coast of Ukraine.
Macron has toughened his tone on Russia in recent weeks, saying he could not rule out sending troops to Ukraine and warning NATO allies not to appear cowardly to President Vladimir Putin.
Stéphane Sejourn, Macron’s foreign minister, as well as other French diplomats, later clarified that the leader in Paris was not referring to sending troops to fight Russian forces, but rather a supporting role. Moscow was not convinced by the explanation, and several high-ranking Russian officials strongly condemned his words.
Two diplomatic sources said the French presidency is considering whether to expand Macron’s visit to Ukraine to include other Western heads of state or keep it a bilateral visit.
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Source: Hot News
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