“It is not because the embassy has returned to kyiv that we have changed our travel advice, quite the contrary”, insists this Sunday on franeinfo Etienne de Poncins, French ambassador to Ukraine. Transferred to Lviv on February 28 because of the Russian invasion, the embassy returned to the Ukrainian capital on Friday. But France always advises against “formally” its nationals to travel to the country.
franceinfo: Volodymyr Zelensky offered Emmanuel Macron this Sunday to come to kyiv. Is this going to happen?
Etienne de Poncins: I do not know. The President of the Republic replied. His coming to kyiv is something he already had in mind but the conditions were not met for a visit for the moment. You have to ask him the question.
Ukrainian President invites Emmanuel Macron to discuss the term genocide. A term used by kyiv but not the Elysée. Is this justified in your opinion?
The President of the Republic was clear on this subject. The term genocide has a specific legal meaning. It is up to the International Criminal Court, in particular, to assess it. This is a debate that deserves to be examined in great depth.
The return of the French embassy to kyiv seems to want to show that the situation has improved in the Ukrainian capital. The conditions, in your opinion, are not yet met to bring the President of the Republic?
With regard to the embassy, we actually judged that the security conditions were acceptable and that they allowed the return of the embassy which had left kyiv since February 28. So we did seven weeks in Lviv.
“What has changed in particular is that the city is no longer directly threatened with encirclement and that Russian troops have crossed the border in the other direction.”
Etienne de Poncinsat franceinfo
They headed north. The city obviously remains subject to missile possibilities. But that, since the beginning of the war, we know that it is all Ukraine which is threatened by this type of shooting. Besides, Lviv had suffered missile strikes.
We heard on franceinfo in particular these horrible testimonies in the regions evacuated by the Russian forces. In what state did you find the embassy in kyiv? And besides, in what state do you find this city which is a bit like yours?
The embassy, we found it in good condition, it was not touched. We put it back in operation with the reduced team that accompanies me. Regarding kyiv, obviously it is no longer the city I knew before the start of the war. Life resumes slowly but it is very marked by conflict. There are checkpoints absolutely everywhere, very high security but we also feel a desire to resume the course of life, even if the war is still there.
In this regard, it is not because the embassy has returned to kyiv that we have changed our travel advice, quite the contrary: we continue to formally advise all our nationals against traveling to Ukraine because the country is in war. Danger is everywhere. There are very few French left in Ukraine. There are Franco-Ukrainians who did not wish to leave but their number is very limited.
You were talking this Sunday morning with the Ukrainian Minister of Defence. We know that Ukraine wants additional arms deliveries. Where are the discussions?
Yes, absolutely. One of the interests of our return to kyiv is to enable daily contact with Ukrainian officials who have remained in the capital. This meeting with the Ukrainian Minister of Defense also follows a conversation he had with our Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly. And so, to go further in the precision of the Ukrainian requests, it is essential to receive one-on-one since everything cannot be said in the telephone conversation that the two ministers had a few days ago. We take note of specific requests from the Ukrainians. Then, Paris will look at what can be done. If the material exists, if it is available, etc. It is this constant dialogue that the embassy maintains with the Ukrainian authorities in the military field but also in the field of humanitarian aid: in a few days, we will welcome a convoy of civil security firefighters who will also come to respond to a very specific request from the Ukrainians.