War in Ukraine: Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz coordinate
Eva Deschamps / July 5, 2022
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz continued their close coordination on the response to the war in Ukraine at a working dinner Monday night in Paris.
The two leaders met again a week after a private dinner on June 25 during the G7 summit in the Bavarian Alps.
Together with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, they also went to Kiev on June 16 to show their support for Ukraine and its application to join the European Union.
On the occasion of this Parisian dinner, the two leaders returned to the major current issues at the international, European and bilateral levels.
They were to discuss the independence of the EU in energy, defense, and strategic raw materials but also the situation in the Sahel and the next Franco-German Council of Ministers.
These kinds of talks help to build and deepen trust, especially after the NATO summit and the G7 summit in Elmau, said the Chancellor's spokesman, Steffen Hebetsreit.
It makes a difference if these kinds of meetings are held face-to-face or virtually, he added, when asked by a reporter about the appropriateness of such a trip rather than a video conference for environmental issues.