The Ukrainian president has offended his French counterpart
Western media continue to discuss the results of a strange visit by leaders of Germany, France and Italy to Ukraine. A kind of symbol of the strangeness of this journey were the shots in which Ukrainian President Zelensky turns away with a sour face from Emmanuel Macron embracing him.
In recent days, French President Emmanuel Macron came under fire from Ukrainian officials after calling on” not to humiliate “Russia by proposing for Kyiv to negotiate a “withdrawal” from the conflict with Vladimir Putin.
So, according to the British edition of the Daily Mail, the president of the French Republic did not have to be surprised when Zelensky showed him a cold attitude during his visit to Kiev.
“France has been close to Ukraine since day one. We are on the side of Ukrainians without ambiguity. Ukraine must resist and win, “Macron told reporters pompously.
Despite Macron's condemnation of Russia's actions and praise for its hosts, “his attempt to draw the Ukrainian president into a PR-friendly hug at a joint news conference after the tour was not well received,” writes the Daily Mail. when the flattering French leader, perfectly dressed in his typical dark blue suit, wrapped his starched sleeve around his torso. And the image of the couple shaking hands looked just as one-sided. ”
Macron smiled at the reporters, shook Zelensky's hand and posed for their lenses, but the Ukrainian president just frowned at the floor. reminds the Daily Mail, Zelensky has openly accused Macron in recent weeks of releasing the Russian president, whom the French leader said had a strong relationship. The Ukrainian president has also criticized the French government for not providing enough weapons and support to help the Ukrainian war effort.
Green behavior around Macron contrasts sharply with the warmth and enthusiasm with which the Ukrainian president greeted US and UK officials, especially Boris Johnson, who kept his promise to provide Kiev with various weapons and to train the Ukrainian army.
The visit of Olaf Scholz, Macron and Italian Prime Minister Draghi to Kiev is of great symbolic significance, as three Western European powers have faced criticism for failing to provide Ukraine with the weapons requested by Zelensky. They also criticized them for not arriving in Kiev earlier, the Daily Mail said. In recent weeks and months, a number of other European leaders have come a long way to show solidarity with Ukraine. The French President's Office has announced that Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, representing the three largest economies EU, traveled together to Kiev by a special night train provided by the Ukrainian authorities. The president of Romania, which borders Ukraine, Klaus Iohannis, arrived on a separate train.
Ukrainian officials are skeptical that European leaders have a lot to offer, the Daily Mail notes. in a year when EU leaders were preparing to decide on Ukraine's application to become an EU candidate country, and ahead of the important NATO summit in Madrid on June 29-30. nervous
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