Less than 24 hours after his appointment, the new head of French diplomacy is going to kyiv on Saturday to meet Volodymyr Zelensky.
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The trip of the brand new French Minister of Foreign Affairs Stéphane Séjourné to Ukraine represents “an extremely strong signal”, greets Saturday January 13 on franceinfo Pieyre-Alexandre Anglade, Renaissance deputy for French people abroad. He sees in this visit “the striking illustration of France’s extremely clear, firm and determined support alongside Ukraine”.
Pieyre-Alexandre Anglade considers this trip all the more symbolic as “Ukrainians face the resurgence of war in its most brutal form”. “For several weeks, we have been witnessing almost daily bombings on all the country’s major cities, which primarily target civilian infrastructure”regrets the deputy for French people abroad.
“France sustainably alongside Ukraine”
If this trip was already planned by the previous minister Catherine Colonna, Pieyre-Alexandre Anglade explains that maintaining this trip, a few hours after the transfer of power at the Quai d’Orsay, “shows that France is permanently alongside Ukraine”. It thus highlights French deliveries “anti-aircraft defense systems”. The president of the European Affairs Committee at the National Assembly affirms that the French state is “extremely present in financial, humanitarian support [à Kiev] and in the training of Ukrainian soldiers”. “But we can always do more”he admits.
This trip by Stéphane Séjourné comes as the 50 billion euro aid package from the European Union to Ukraine is blocked by Hungary’s veto. Pieyre-Alexandre Anglade calls on States to “ensure that this envelope can be released as quickly as possible”. “We need to do more” because “Ukrainians need the means to resist, win the war and regain their territorial integrity”, insists MP Renaissance. He assures that the aid provided so far has been vital for the Ukrainians. According to Pieyre-Alexandre Anglade, without this help, “kyiv would have fallen a long time ago and the Russians would be at the very borders of the European Union”.