““There are no red lines for France.” The “herbivorous” EU, the uncertain Trump and the permission to strike the Russian Federation — NV’s long interview with the French ambassador November 19, 12:16 Share: Gael Vessier, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to Ukraine (Photo: KNU) Author: Nataliya Ropp Gael Vessier, the official representative of Paris in Kyiv, on the occasion of the 1000 days of the great war, describes the reaction of France to the possible suspension of aid by Trump, names the red lines regarding”, — write on: ua.news
Gael Vessier, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to Ukraine (Photo: KNU)
On the occasion of the 1000 days of the great war, Gael Vessier, the official representative of Paris in Kyiv, describes the French reaction to the possible suspension of aid by Trump, names the red lines on peace talks, NATO and weapons, and explains when the armed forces will receive the Mirage.
“If necessary [відправити французькі війська вУкраїну]we are ready to discuss it,” says Gael Vessières, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to Ukraine, quite boldly.
This is how he explains the emergence of equally loud statements by his president, Emmanuel Macron, made in May of this year, in which he “did not rule out” sending a military contingent to Ukraine.
Today, official Paris is one of Ukraine’s key partners in providing military aid. In February 2024, Kyiv signed a security agreement with France, which defined the priority areas of bilateral cooperation — military, political, financial and humanitarian.
However, NV talked with the official French representative in Ukraine about more than that. In particular, Vessier spoke in detail about Europe’s ability to help Kyiv without the United States, assessed the prospects for peace negotiations and the role of Paris in them, and also answered questions about allowing Ukraine to use long-range weapons, described the usefulness of French fighter jets on the battlefield and the West’s reaction to the DPRK’s decision to deploy its troops to the Russian Federation to participate in the war against Ukrainians.
— After the victory of Donald Trump in the presidential elections in the USA, there was a lot of news about possible peace negotiations with Russia regarding the war. What role is France ready to play in this process?
— We are always ready to play a role in establishing peace. But it is important for us to play the role that the Ukrainian authorities, that is, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi and his administration, will ask us to play.
It is important to note that Ukraine is the victim, Russia is the aggressor. Therefore, there should be no talk about Ukraine without Ukraine. It is Ukraine that should determine the framework of these discussions when the time is right for them.