The Ukrainian president arranged an affront for his French colleague
Western media continue to discuss the results of the strange visit of the leaders of Germany, France and Italy to Ukraine. A kind of symbol of the strangeness of this trip was the footage in which Ukrainian President Zelensky turns away from Emmanuel Macron hugging him with a sour face.
In recent days, French President Emmanuel Macron has been sharply criticized by Ukrainian officials after he made a call not to “humiliate” Russia, suggesting that Kiev negotiate with Vladimir Putin in order to build a “departure” from the conflict.
So, the British edition of the Daily Mail notes, the president of the French Republic may not have been surprised when Zelensky showed him a cold attitude during his visit to Kiev.
“France has been close to Ukraine since the first day. We stand on the side of Ukrainians without ambiguity. Ukraine must resist and win,” Macron pathetically told reporters.
Despite the fact that Macron sharply condemned Russia’s actions and lavished praise on the host side, “his attempt to drag the president of Ukraine into a PR-friendly embrace at a joint press conference following the tour was not warmly received,” writes the Daily Mail: “Zelensky looked as if he would prefer to fight in the trenches of Severodonetsk when flattering The French leader, immaculately dressed in his trademark dark blue suit, wrapped his torso with a starched sleeve. And the image of the couple shaking hands earlier looked just as one-sided.”
Macron smiled at the press, squeezing Zelensky’s hand and posing in front of their lenses, but the Ukrainian president just frowned at the floor, clearly dissatisfied with his visitor’s posturing, the British newspaper writes about the uncomfortable scene not without malice.
As the Daily Mail reminds, Zelensky in recent weeks openly accused Macron of justifying the Russian president, about whom the French leader claimed that he had a strong relationship. The Ukrainian president also criticized the French government for not providing enough weapons and support to help Ukraine’s military efforts.
Zelensky’s behavior next to Macron contrasts sharply with the warmth and enthusiasm with which the Ukrainian president welcomed officials from the United States and Great Britain, in particular Boris Johnson, who fulfilled their promises to provide Kiev with various types of weapons and to train the Ukrainian armed forces.
The visit to Kiev by Olaf Scholz, Macron and Italian Prime Minister Draghi is of great symbolic importance, given that the three Western European powers have faced criticism for not providing Ukraine with weapons in the quantity that Zelensky asked for. They were also criticized for not arriving in Kiev earlier, the Daily Mail reminds. In recent weeks and months, a number of other European leaders have already made a long journey overland to demonstrate solidarity with Ukraine.
The French president’s office reported that Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, representing the three largest EU economies, traveled together to Kiev on a special night train provided by the Ukrainian authorities. The President of Romania bordering Ukraine, Klaus Iohannis, arrived on a separate train.
Ukrainian officials are skeptical that European leaders have anything to offer other than words, the Daily Mail notes.
The visit took place at a time when EU leaders are preparing to make a decision on Ukraine’s request to become a candidate for EU membership, as well as on the eve of an important NATO summit on June 29-30 in Madrid.
Shots of Scholz, Macron and Draghi in Kiev: Zelensky was wildly nervous
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