Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz and Mario Draghi promised Thursday to support “unambiguously” Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression, during an unprecedented visit to kyiv scheduled a few days before a decision by the European Union on the chances of this country to join the European bloc.
The Heads of State then visited Irpin, one of the suburbs of kyiv devastated at the start of the war by the failed Russian offensive on the capital. The French president defended himself from any “ambiguity” in his support for kyiv, he who was widely criticized for having affirmed that Russia should not be “humiliated”. “Ukraine must be able to resist and win” against the Russian army, he declared. “France has been alongside Ukraine since day one (…) we are alongside the Ukrainians without ambiguity,” he said.
“Make Europe Not War”
Like other European leaders who have come to Kyiv before them, the leaders wandered the streets of Irpin, stopping in front of buildings destroyed by fighting or a burnt-out car, asking questions of their guide, the Ukrainian Minister of Decentralization Oleksiï Chernychov. The French president notably stopped in front of a drawing on a wall, accompanied by the message “Make Europe Not War” (“Make Europe, not war”). “That’s the right message,” he commented. “It’s very moving to see this.”
At the end of their visit, the French president praised the “heroism” of the Ukrainians, evoking “the stigmata of barbarism, the first traces of what war crimes are”. Hundreds of civilians were killed in the towns of Irpin, Boutcha and Borodianka, during the Russian occupation of this region in March. International investigations are underway to determine the culprits of these war crimes of which the Ukrainians accuse the Russian forces.
The four leaders then met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the presidential palace in central Kyiv before a joint press conference in the afternoon. The Ukrainian capital has come back to life since the Russian withdrawal from the region, but is still occasionally hit by Russian fire. Warning sirens sound there frequently, as was the case shortly after the arrival of European leaders on Thursday.
The application for membership in Europe will be studied
The question of Ukraine’s accession to the EU was to be at the heart of the discussions. Mr. Zelensky insists that his country, by defending “the values” of Europe in the face of Russian aggression, has won the right to join the European bloc, which the EU refused to consider before the start of the invasion Russian. The Twenty-Seven must decide, during a summit on June 23 to 24, whether to grant Ukraine official status as a candidate for membership, the start of a negotiation process that could last for years. The European Commission is due to make its recommendation known on Friday.
On Wednesday, from Romania, the French president had stressed the need to send “clear political signals” to the Ukrainians in an “unprecedented geopolitical situation”. Among the 27, the countries of Eastern Europe support this candidacy, but others such as Denmark or the Netherlands have expressed reservations. Any decision requires unanimity. Ukraine could obtain candidate status with conditions or a date for the opening of negotiations, according to some experts.
France says it is “open” to this candidacy, but proposes the creation of a European political community which would make it possible to anchor Ukraine more quickly in Europe, by associating it with concrete projects of defence, energy or infrastructure, without waiting for membership. A proposal poorly received in kyiv, which fears that it will postpone EU membership indefinitely.
While waiting to know the decision of the EU, Chancellor Scholz confirmed that Mr. Zelensky had “accepted (his) invitation” to participate in the next G7 summit, from June 26 to 28, in Bavaria, then at the summit of the which will take place in the wake of Madrid.
