Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba denied rumors that Germany and France are putting pressure on Ukraine to make concessions in negotiations with the Russian Federation.
“Those countries that you mentioned are our partners, they help us a lot, especially the UK, and we don’t feel any pressure in the negotiation process from their side, we feel support and we have very close interaction with these governments,” Kuleba said at the briefing in Warsaw on Friday.
So Kuleba responded to a journalist’s request to comment on media reports that France and Germany are putting pressure on Ukraine to make concessions to the Russian Federation in the negotiations.
The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed that even before the start of the war, it was inappropriate to say that Ukraine could be put under pressure.
“We have shown in a number of situations that Ukraine does not succumb to any pressure, you can only speak with us on an equal footing and you can never speak down. And after 36 days of war, I assure you that no one in Europe or overseas will even dare to attack President Zelensky or to Ukraine for any reason,” Kuleba said.
French authorities have the necessary resources to accommodate up to 100,000 refugees from Ukraine on their territory, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Monday.
“Today, we can host up to 100,000 refugees. This has become possible thanks to the considerable efforts of the state and local authorities,” Le Figaro quoted him as saying.
“We continue to work on scenarios under which we can accept even more people,” the minister said.
The newspaper notes that about 13,500 Ukrainian refugees are currently registered in France.
France is allocating EUR 100 million to help Ukraine and neighboring countries, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reported.
“Having faced with a humanitarian emergency, France is allocating EUR 100 million to help Ukraine and neighboring countries. About 100 tonnes of cargo have already been delivered to the victims of the conflict,” the French Foreign Ministry said on Twitter on Wednesday.
Nova Poshta Global, a member of the Nova Poshta group of companies, has begun delivering goods from online stores in Spain and France, you can now order them through the NP Shopping website, the company’s press service said.
“Our customers got direct access to some of the best products in terms of quality and range. Spain is a country of shopping for your favorite brands, where you can buy products from the first collections much cheaper than ours. And in French online stores it’s easy to find exclusive goods and please yourself what you can’t find in our stores, or buy a third cheaper than in Ukraine. Our goal is for everyone to be able to buy goods around the world as easily and with pleasure as in Ukrainian stores,” Olha Volodina, the deputy director for products development and marketing of Nova Poshta Global, said.
The company notes that the cost of delivery of the order depends on the weight of the package: 0-1 kg – from $5, 1-5 kg – from $4; 5-30 kg – from $3.5.
Currently, online stores from nine countries are already available for ordering through the NP Shopping website: the United States, Italy, Turkey, China, UK, Germany, Poland, France and Spain.
Nova Poshta Global has been providing international express delivery services since 2015. In 2021, the company delivered over 9.3 million international parcels, up 32% from 2020 volumes.
EU macro-financial assistance in the amount of EUR 1.2 billion, in providing which France has taken an active part, will be used to stabilize the Ukrainian economy, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has said following a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.
“Economic support is very important, and we really appreciate such a step of solidarity with other states, a powerful step on the part of Emmanuel, on the part of France – the allocation of EUR 1.2 billion in macro-financial assistance to Ukraine. This will really help us stabilize our economy. We are already doing well, but this is a powerful step for the economic sustainability of Ukraine,” Zelensky said at a joint press conference with Macron on Tuesday in Kyiv.
A Ukrainian delegation headed by First Deputy Prime Minister, Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko is on an official visit to Paris, it is planned to pay special attention in the talks to joint infrastructure projects, as well as the participation of French companies in the Big Construction program and the creation Ukrainian national air carrier.
“During the one-day stay of the delegation, the First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine will meet with Minister of Economy, Finance and Recovery of France Bruno Le Maire. In addition, a number of meetings are planned with French partners, in particular, leading French companies Airbus, Alstom and Bouygues,” the Economy Ministry said on its wesite on Wednesday.
The visit takes place in order to implement the agreements between the leaders of Ukraine and France and in the context of the planned visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Ukraine, the ministry said.
Svyrydenko said on Facebook that among the issues of French-Ukrainian cooperation are the attraction of financial guarantees or a direct loan from the French government, the development of promising nuclear energy projects: cooperation between the Ukrainian Energoatom and EDF is essential, as well as consultations on holding the World Exhibition EXPO in Ukraine 2030.
In addition, within the signed memorandum of understanding, the parties will touch upon the issues of cooperation between the national air carrier and Airbus, under the signed intergovernmental agreement on the supply of 130 locomotives manufactured by Alstom for Ukrzaliznytsia, the organization of the conversion of Airbus passenger aircraft into cargo aircraft on the basis of SOE Antonov (Kyiv).
