PARIS: President of France Emmanuel Macron will host his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday in Paris for negotiations on the war-hit nation’s requirements, the Elysee Palace announced.
The statement on Wednesday said as Russian strikes intensify on the front line and against energy infrastructure, the presidents of the two countries will discuss the situation on the ground.
The meeting between the two leaders will be held after D-Day commemorations.
Zelensky, who will be welcomed by France’s Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu with military honours on Friday, will also visit a site of the Franco-German arms group KNDS near Paris. The group produces artillery guns being used in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian President will also deliver a speech in France’s National Assembly and hold a meeting with the speaker of the lower house Yael Braun-Pivet, who visited Ukraine in March this year.
The leader of right-wing Republicans in parliament, Olivier Marleix has denounced the decision of the French government to allow Zelensky’s address, saying it was “inappropriate” to invite the Ukrainian leader to speak just days before the upcoming European elections.
France organized a conference in February on providing military support to Ukraine, after which Macron announced measures to provide more arms to Kyiv and did not rule out sending troops to Ukraine — sparking controversy among the allies.
Earlier, a top diplomat of Russia had warned that French military instructors training soldiers in Ukraine would be a legitimate target for Moscow strikes.
France does not have military troops assisting or training Ukrainian forces in the country at the moment, but Kyiv last week said it was in talks with French authorities on the matter.
