France ‘not getting the credit it should’ for Ukraine support

Tom WHEELDON

15 May 2023 at 3:12 pm·1-min read

There was an amicable mood between Volodymyr Zelensky and Emmanuel Macron as the two leaders met in Paris on Sunday – a far cry from the diplomatic storm created by Macron’s warning against “humiliating” Russia last year. Analysts say France is still much more cautious than the US and the UK when it comes to arming Ukraine – although it would be unfair to characterise Macron’s position as soft.

Warm diplomatic language characterised Zelensky’s latest encounter with Macron. On Twitter, the Ukrainian president described his French counterpart as “my friend”, while Macron underlined that France will “continue to provide political, financial, humanitarian and military support to the Ukrainians as long as it takes”.

Many Ukrainians were also displeased by Macron’s warning in May 2022 that Kyiv’s accession to the EU will take “decades” – even if he proposed at the same time the creation of the European Political Community, a structure designed to bring non-EU members like Ukraine into the fold, and which got up and running months later.