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 during a joint briefing with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba.
“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 visited 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 Zelensky 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 the Luhansk area. This is just for the 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. The political dimension will obviously also be at the core of a presidential visit,” de Poncins said.