Zelensky arrives in France to meet with Macron and Scholz

The video of the meeting was published on Zelenskyy's Telegram channel.

Emmanuel Macron posted a video of the meeting with Zelenskyy on Twitter and wrote: "Welcome to Paris, dear friend! Ukraine can count on France."

Bienvenue à Paris, cher ami.
L'Ukraine peut compter sur la France.

Ласкаво просимо до Парижа, любий друже. Україна може розраховувати на Францію. pic.twitter.com/4tegLYYLok

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) February 8, 2023

During a joint press conference, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he came to France "to strengthen our continental unity" and also to thank for the support, because "sincerity forms alliances, and gratitude cements them."

The Ukrainian president added that Ukraine now needs weapons to stop the war unleashed by Russia, and France and Germany have the potential to change the situation.

"This is exactly how I see our negotiations today. Everything is obvious: the sooner Ukraine gets powerful long-range weapons, the sooner our pilots get modern planes, the stronger our tank coalition is, the sooner Russian aggression ends and we return lasting peace to Europe," said Zelenskyy.

"Ukraine knows how to be strong and grateful, our friends know how to be principled and sincere. I believe that today we will strengthen our defense, sanctions and political unity, and this is why I am here now," he added.

As The Guardian previously reported, Volodymyr Zelenskyy flew to Paris after his visit to Great Britain on Wednesday, February 8. The plane with the Ukrainian president landed at Orly airport. He was greeted by the Minister of the Armed Forces of France, Sébastien Lecornu.

According to The Guardian, Zelenskyy was scheduled to meet with French President Macron and German Chancellor Scholz in Paris.

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Great Britain on February 8 to meet with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and King Charles III. He also spoke in the British Parliament where he called for the creation of an aircraft coalition and called it "wings for freedom." Zelenskyy also visited the British military base where they train Ukrainian soldiers.