Steph Deschamps / February 25, 2023
Emmanuel Macron sent a message of "solidarity" to Ukrainians after a year of war led by Russia, calling for their "victory" and "peace ».
Ukrainians, France stands by you. Here's to solidarity, victory and peace," the French president said on Twitter in a message also posted in Ukrainian and English.
The Elysee Palace also tweeted, on this anniversary, a night photo of the lighted stoop of the French presidency with a Ukrainian flag prominently displayed among French and European flags.
Emmanuel Macron had been invited by Kiev to visit around this first anniversary of the Russian invasion, as did U.S. President Joe Biden earlier this week or the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the head of the Spanish government Pedro Sanchez, said the Ukrainian ambassador to France Omelchenko Vadym. "Unfortunately, he could not come," he said, while hoping for a visit "possibly in March. »
The French head of state, who visited Kiev in June for the first time since the beginning of the conflict, prefers to avoid going back only for the symbolism, but would like a visit at a time that has meaning, possibly with concrete announcements at the end, explained French diplomatic sources.
President Macron delivered a full-scale indictment of Russia last week at the Munich security conference, hammering home the point that Vladimir Putin's "aggression" in Ukraine must "fail. He then told journalists that he wanted Moscow to be "defeated" in this conflict, while warning those who want "above all to crush Russia" that this will "never be" France's "position ».