Emmanuel Macron, Friedrich Merz, Keir Starmer and Donald Tusk are expected in Kyïv on Saturday to display their support for Ukraine and claim, in concert with the United States, a “complete and unconditional ceasefire of 30 days” in Moscow, in the aftermath of a demonstration of Russian diplomatic force.
• Read also: The EU undertakes to pay a billion euros to Ukraine from frozen Russian assets
• Read also: Putin celebrates the 9th-May with great fanfare, in the presence of foreign leaders
This visit to the French, German, British and Polish leaders responds, symbolically, to the commemorations with great fanfare of the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany held Friday in the Red Place around the Russian President Vladimir Putin and about twenty foreign leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine. We will intensify our pressure on the Russian war machine until Russia accepts a lasting ceasefire, ”they warn in a joint declaration.
In Kyïv, the European quartet must hold, alongside the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, a virtual meeting with the other leaders of the “coalition of volunteers”, these essentially European Western countries, ready to provide “security guarantees” to Ukraine.
They will thus inform the other countries of “progress made with a view to a future coalition bringing together air, land and sea forces to help regenerate the Ukrainian armed forces after a possible peace agreement and to strengthen trust in future peace”, according to their declaration.
The French president and the British Prime Minister provide the management of this still blurred contours which has already met in Paris and London.
Mr. Macron, Starmer and Merz embarked on the same train in Poland near the border with Ukraine and found themselves in relaxed outfit in a wagon for a three exchange, AFP journalists found on Friday evening.
AFP
The Europeans go to Kyïv strong with the call of the American president Donald Trump, who pressed Russia on Thursday to accept an “unconditional ceasefire of 30 days”. He threatened with new Western sanctions in the event of failure.
Emmanuel Macron said Friday wish to lead “in the coming hours and next few days” to an American-European common-European plan of ceasefire, accompanied by new “massive economic sanctions” in the event of failure.
-“We reaffirm our support for calls launched by President Trump in favor of a peace agreement and we ask Russia to stop [d’y] Highlight, ”hammered the four European leaders.
“Alongside the United States, we call on Russia to accept a full and unconditional ceasefire of 30 days to allow the holding of talks for a fair and lasting peace”, add these leaders who must also “tribute to the defenders of Ukraine killed and wounded during this war waged by Russia, in Maidan square, where flags float in memory of these victims”.
Western weapons
Friday in Moscow, Vladimir Putin celebrated the “courage” of the Russian soldiers engaged in the conflict since the invasion of the neighboring country which he ordered in February 2022. The war in Ukraine left tens of thousands of deaths and Russia currently occupies 20% of Ukrainian territory.
On the American channel ABC, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov, said that a ceasefire should be preceded by a judgment of Western arms deliveries, failing which this would give “an advantage to Ukraine” at a time when “Russian troops are advancing in a guarantee” on the front.
He judged that Ukraine was “not ready for immediate negotiations” for a diplomatic solution.
Moscow has yet rejected calls to the ceasefire, just decreasing a three-day truce; who is due to end on Saturday, on the occasion of the victory celebrations over Nazi Germany. Ukraine spoke of hundreds of violations.
Since the return of Donald Trump to the White House in January, and his start of spectacular rapprochement with the Kremlin master, the Ukrainians and the Europeans fear an agreement which would be tied without their consent.
But they hope to have succeeded in granting their violins with the American president, especially since a Trump-Zelenksy tête-à-tête in Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis on April 26.
For Emmanuel Macron, this is the second visit to Ukraine since the start of the war after that of June 2022, at the time with the German and Italian leaders.
He has said he wanted to go back several times, while arguing that a trip should be “useful”.
“There are a whole series of symbols,” explains those around him to AFP to justify the choice of May 10.
“That the leaders of France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Poland come in block four days after the election of the German Chancellor, it shows the unity, the strength, the responsiveness of Europe,” said a relative of the French president. “And then it’s mirror with Putin celebrations.”
