PRESS RELEASE : Today, the partnership between Ukraine and France in the field of security is of special importance – President

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 8 February 2022.

Ukraine and France share a common vision of current threats and security challenges for our country, Europe and the world at large. That is why the partnership of our states in the field of security is of special importance today. This was stated by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting with media representatives following talks with President of France Emmanuel Macron in Kyiv.

“France plays an active role within the Normandy format. And we greatly appreciate the official position of Paris and the personal efforts of Mr. Emmanuel Macron to achieve peace in Ukraine – he is doing a lot for this,” said Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

According to the President of Ukraine, today the peace process was one of the key issues of negotiations with his French counterpart.

“We expect that in the near future, in accordance with the agreements reached during the Paris Summit in December 2019, we will be able to hold the next talks of the leaders of the Normandy Four. An important step in this direction is the intensification of dialogue at the level of political advisers. We hope that the meeting in Paris, which took place on January 26, 2022, and the upcoming talks in Berlin will bring us closer to holding the Normandy Summit,” said the President of Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that he and the President of France share a common vision of current threats and security challenges for our country, Europe and the world at large.

“They demand unity and new proactive approaches from European leadership. We will continue to cooperate for the deoccupation of part of the territory of Ukraine,” he stressed.

“Today, the security and economic support for Ukraine from partners, strengthening its resilience and defense capabilities is beneficial for the region as a whole and, I am sure, for all countries of the European Union,” the President added.

In this context, Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted the steps of solidarity on the part of France and the decision to allocate 1.2 billion euros of macro-financial assistance, which will help strengthen Ukraine’s economic stability.

The President also noted that the countries are developing cooperation not only in the security sector, but in almost all areas, so an important issue of the meeting with Emmanuel Macron was the involvement of France in joint economic and, above all, infrastructure projects. These include the implementation of an important project for drinking water treatment in Mariupol, the Donetsk region, and the reconstruction of a water supply system in the town of Popasna, the Luhansk region. Thanks to these projects, half a million Mariupol residents and more than a million residents of the Luhansk region will have access to quality drinking water, the Ukrainian President stressed.

“In general, we held meaningful, very effective talks today. I am personally grateful to Emmanuel Macron. Thank you for France’s support to Ukraine. I am convinced that our talks will give impetus to many important things. And the most important thing is the security of our state, the security of Europe,” the President summed up.

For his part, Emmanuel Macron noted the path of reforms that Ukraine has covered, as well as the restraint shown by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy despite the concentration of troops on Ukraine’s borders.

“France and Germany will play a mediating role in resolving the conflict in the format of the Normandy Four, in particular at the level of heads of state,” he emphasized.

The President of France noted that Ukraine reaffirms its readiness to implement the Minsk agreements, which are a path to de-escalation and lasting peace. Emmanuel Macron added that during the recent talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, he also received confirmation of Russia’s readiness to continue implementing these agreements.

In addition, the French leader expressed his desire to restore peace on the European continent, which he had already discussed at the talks in Russia and Ukraine. According to him, in the near future it is necessary to work together on a new mechanism to guarantee security, which will ensure de-escalation and enhance security.