Participation of North Korean soldiers in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would constitute escalation “extremely serious” in this conflict, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Saturday during a visit to kyiv.
For his first trip to Ukraine since his appointment at the Quai d’Orsay in September, Jean-Noël Barrot must also go on Sunday to the east of the country, where France is financing two new centers for the protection of children affected by the war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday accused North Korea of deploying officers to the Russian military and preparing to send 10,000 troops to support Russia’s war effort in Ukraine.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte nevertheless declared that there was no evidence at this stage of North Korean military involvement in Ukraine. “It would be extremely serious because it would take the conflict into a new stage, an additional escalatory stage”said Jean-Noël Barrot during a press conference in kyiv alongside his Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Sybiha.
Russia in difficulty?
The French Minister of Foreign Affairs also ruled that “this would be confirmation that Vladimir Putin’s Russia is struggling terribly to break through the Ukrainian defenses and resistance to the point of having to call on North Korea for reinforcement”. Andrii Sybiha, for his part, declared that North Korean involvement in the conflict would pose a risk “huge” military escalation.
“This is a huge threat of further escalation of Russian aggression against Ukraine. There is a great risk that it will spill over its current scale and boundaries.”he said. Volodymyr Zelensky presented this week a “victory plan” likely, according to him, to end the war by 2025.
The first point of this plan is unconditional accession of Ukraine to NATO. “Regarding the invitation to join NATO, we are open to it and this is a discussion that we are having today with our NATO partners”said Jean-Noël Barrot.
France
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