French President Emmanuel Macron may visit Ukraine by the end of the first half of the year, said French Ambassador to Ukraine Etienne de Poncins.
“We do not have a date at the moment because of the pandemic. President Macron does not travel at the moment. He did not leave France since mid-December now. His last visit was to Brussels, not a bilateral one and not very far. I want to be very prudent, but my expectation is that this visit could occur by the end of the first semester,” the ambassador said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
De Poncins pointed out that there is a great need for this visit, since the last French president who officially visit Ukraine was Jacques Chirac in 1998.
“The principle of a visit is agreed, for as I have said there is a very good relationship between the two presidents and President Macron is very keen to come. President Zelenskyy confirmed several times the invitation. There is a lack of visits at the highest level between our two countries. The last French President who officially visited Ukraine was Jacques Chirac, in 1998. It was a very long time ago. Therefore, there’s a need for it. And there is a lot of substance for such a high level visit,” he stressed.
The ambassador noted that the visit will focus on bilateral programs, as well as the political dimension.
“About the substance, there will be a lot to focus on. There are some very important bilateral programs: helicopters, patrol boats, locomotives, water plant facilities in Mariupol. We have some other projects in Luhansk area. This is just for economy. The cultural, scientific, university and linguistic part is a big one too. I can tell you that if President Macron comes, he will be overloaded with projects and programs. Political dimension will obviously also be at the core of a presidential visit,” de Poncins said.
