Macron promises concrete solutions and proposals for Ukraine during upcoming visit to Kyiv
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French President Emmanuel Macron will announce concrete solutions and proposals to help Ukraine in its war with Russia during his upcoming visit to Kyiv, he said in an interview with Ukrainian media for the national telethon United News on March 16.
The French leader wanted concrete progress, and therefore initiated an international conference on assistance to Ukraine in Paris on Feb. 26. The meeting made decisions in several areas, and he will have concrete proposals during his visit to Ukraine.
"When I physically arrive, it will mean that there will be a strong message and new areas of cooperation in the direction we outlined at the beginning of the year," Macron said.
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Before his trip to Ukraine, Macron will meet in Germany with Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
"I have a rule that my visit should be as useful as possible for Ukraine," the French President said.
“This is exactly what we have always agreed and done with President Zelenskyy. I will go to Berlin and talk to Chancellor Scholz and the Polish Prime Minister [Tusk]. I am confident that we will be able to allocate additional funds.”
The Office of the President of Ukraine reported on the same day that Macron would arrive in Ukraine in the near future, a visit that "will be important."
Reuters reported earlier that Macron's visit to Ukraine had been postponed for the third time. Initially, the French president was expected to come to Ukraine in mid-February to sign a bilateral security agreement. Later, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy came to Paris to sign the agreement himself.
The second date, according to French diplomats, was set for early March, but then it was also postponed. Macron is expected to arrive in Ukraine in the coming weeks.
Western troops in Ukraine — what is known
After a conference in support of Ukraine held in Paris on Feb. 26, Macron said that Ukraine's Western allies would form a coalition to provide the Ukrainian Armed Forces with long-range weapons and that sending Western troops to Ukraine in the future should not be ruled out.
In response to Macron's statements, a number of NATO countries publicly rejected the idea of sending troops to Ukraine. Among them are Poland, the United States, Germany, the Czech Republic, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
General Onno Eichelsheim, Chief of Defense of the Dutch Army, said that NATO countries should consider all options to help Kyiv. However, he noted that Ukraine has not asked the Netherlands to send troops, and there is no point in discussing this now.
The AFP news agency quoted a source as saying that European NATO member states had been studying the possibility of sending NATO troops to Ukraine for weeks.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said on Feb. 28 that French troops could be sent to Ukraine to protect certain frontiers and participate in exercises or ground air defense.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said on March 3 that she could not guarantee that her country's military would not be sent to Ukraine in the future.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda also said that Western countries should discuss the idea of sending troops to Ukraine and stop drawing "red lines" in terms of assistance to Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on March 11 that Ukraine does not need Western troops on its territory but is ready to accept "instructors" and "technical personnel" from NATO allies.
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