Kyiv, June 16 (Reuters) – Several sirens of airstrikes sounded in Kyiv as French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi launched a joint visit to show support for Ukraine. his struggle against the Russian invasion.
The three arrived in the Ukrainian capital early Thursday after traveling together overnight on a train used to transport high-profile visitors to Ukraine.
“It is an important moment. It is a message of unity that we are sending to the Ukrainians, in support, to talk about both the present and the future, because the next few weeks, as we know, will be very difficult,” Macron said. they arrived.
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Macron, who had been criticized both at home and abroad for not having traveled to Ukraine before, had repeatedly said he would only go when the visit could be “useful” and not just a symbolic show of support.
It remains to be seen what specific steps he will take.
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis will join the three for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who is expected to address Kyiv’s bid to join the European Union as well as the war itself.
The visit took weeks to organize with the three men seeking to overcome criticism in Ukraine over their response to the war.
“We are here, we are focused, we will join President Zelenskiy to go to a place of war where massacres have taken place,” Macron said.
BFM TV said the leaders were going to Irpin, where Ukraine says Russia committed large-scale atrocities. Russia denies allegations.
I CANDIDATURE
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to reporters when he arrives at the train station in Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 16, 2022. Ludovic Marin / Pool via REUTERS
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When asked why the visit was being made now, an Elysian official said he thought it best to do so just before an EU summit next week that the offer should be discussed. of Kyiv to join the bloc of 27 nations.
The European Union executive is expected to propose on Friday that Ukraine become a formal candidate for membership in the bloc, diplomats and officials say.
It would be an important political gesture for the country, as it resists the invasion of Russia, but also something in which EU leaders are very divided.
“A balance must be struck between Ukraine’s natural aspirations to (join) the EU at a very special time, and attention to all countries that already have candidate status and are stuck in the negotiating chapters and the fact that we must not destabilize or break the EU, “said the Elysee official.
Zelenskiy is expected to push his visitors to send more weapons to help his much-pressed army resist the Russian invaders.
Kyiv has accused France, Germany and, to a lesser extent, Italy of dragging their feet in support of Ukraine, saying they have been slow to lay down their arms and put their own prosperity ahead of Ukraine’s freedom and security. .
A senior EU official said Zelenskiy was “in a really difficult position: the Ukrainian army not only needs weapons, but also the lack of soldiers.”
Zelensky’s adviser Oleksiy Arestovych told German newspaper Bild this week that he was concerned that the three leaders were pressuring Kyiv to accept a peace deal in favor of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Addressing this concern, Draghi said on Tuesday that it was important for peace talks to begin as soon as possible, but added that they should be “in conditions that Ukraine deems acceptable.”
Ukraine has been particularly critical of German military aid, and the country’s ambassador to Berlin, Andrij Melnyk, told German NTV that he hoped Scholz would deliver the heavy weapons he had long promised. they had not yet been delivered.
Scholz has dismissed allegations that he has curbed much-needed military support, saying Germany was one of Ukraine’s main military and financial sponsors, and that it was taking time to train Ukrainian soldiers to use the sophisticated artillery systems it offered.
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Additional reports by Sarah Marsh and Andreas Rinke in Berlin, John Irish, Michel Rose and Benoit Van Overstraeten in Paris; Written by Crispian Balmer and Ingrid Melander; Editing by Toby Chopra, Mark Potter and Angus MacSwan
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