PRESS RELEASE : President of Ukraine held a phone conversation with the President of France

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 1 August 2022.

As part of the continued dialogue, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a phone conversation with President of France Emmanuel Macron. The substantive negotiations lasted one and a half hours.

The Ukrainian Head of State noted the important role of Paris and Emmanuel Macron personally in the adoption of the historic decision to grant Ukraine the status of a candidate for accession to the European Union during the French Presidency of the Council of the EU. Volodymyr Zelenskyy also expressed gratitude for the participation of the First Lady of France Brigitte Macron in the second Kyiv Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen on July 23, 2022.

The President of Ukraine informed the French leader about the course of countering Russian aggression and the situation on the battlefield.

“We are waging a war against a real terrorist state. Russia’s planned cynical murder of Ukrainian prisoners of war in Olenivka is evidence of this,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.

The Head of State expressed gratitude to France for condemning this crime against humanity and for its willingness to help bring the perpetrators to justice.

The leaders discussed security cooperation in detail. The President of Ukraine noted the decisions made by France regarding the supply of new modern weapons, as well as the provided defense assistance. The parties agreed to coordinate further actions on the provision of security assistance to Ukraine by both France and other international partners, in particular as regards meeting the priority needs of Ukrainian defenders for modern weapons.

The important issue of macro-financial support for our state and the important role of the French Republic in this process were discussed separately.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron touched upon the issue of Russia’s ongoing war crimes in Ukraine.

“All the guilty must be punished. This is our principled position,” the President of Ukraine emphasized.

The Ukrainian President expressed gratitude to the French side for the practical contribution to the efforts aimed to fight impunity of Russia, namely sending a group of medics and gendarmes to Ukraine to establish the facts of crimes committed by the Russian aggressor. In this regard, the issue of continuing the work of the specified group was discussed.

Considerable attention was paid to the participation of France in the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, in particular to the participation in the implementation of the Fast Recovery Plan. Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted the importance of France’s willingness to participate in the reconstruction of a separate region of Ukraine.

The topic of global food security was discussed separately. The interlocutors welcomed the initiative on the transportation of Ukrainian grain and emphasized the need for its unwavering implementation. The practical aspects of increasing the export of Ukrainian grain by other logistical ways were also discussed.

The President of France informed in detail about the results of his African tour, which, inter alia, resulted in the expansion of the anti-war coalition and the consolidation of international support for Ukraine given the full-scale aggression against our state by Russia.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited Emmanuel Macron to participate in the online summit of the international Crimea Platform on August 23.