What is being brought to Kyiv by Macron, Scholz and Draghi
The visit will take place on the eve of the European Council meeting on June 23-24, where there will be a discussion on granting Ukraine the status of a candidate state in the EU, on the eve of the G7 summit on June 26 and the NATO summit in Madrid, which is scheduled for June 28-30. According to the German publication Bild, “there are concrete plans for the trip.” The main issues that Scholz, Macron and Draghi will discuss in Kyiv are the European prospects for Ukraine and the supply of weapons. Earlier, Olaf Scholz said that he would come to Kyiv only if there was a reason: “I will not come for a photo shoot. Only if it comes to very specific things.” It is also worth recalling that Scholz and Macron have long been sharply criticized in Germany and France because they have not yet traveled to Ukraine. Especially against the background of the visit to Kyiv by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the leaders of Poland and the Baltic countries. The leaders of Germany, France and Italy said they would visit Kyiv to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky and “signify all the support of the three largest European countries.” This is also important because France and Germany until recently took and continue to take the position of appeasing Russia and are still trying to convince Vladimir Putin to stop the war in Ukraine. They do everything they can to resist Ukraine's entry into the European Union and the introduction of an embargo on Russian energy resources in Europe. These same countries are trying in every possible way to avoid the supply of heavy weapons to Ukraine, fearing this will anger the Russian dictator. Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Andriy Melnyk said that he expects German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's upcoming visit to Kyiv to fulfill promises regarding arms supplies and Ukraine's accession to the EU. “We hope that during his visit to Kyiv, the Chancellor will finally fulfill Germany’s promises regarding the supply of weapons and Ukraine’s accession to the EU. given months ago,” the Ukrainian ambassador said in an interview with the German edition of Spiegel. Kyiv is waiting for French President Emmanuel Macron to announce the transfer of Caesar self-propelled howitzers to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. France, which already delivered six Caesar howitzers to Ukraine at the end of April, may double the supply of these units by the end of this month. The Ukrainian ambassador also expressed hope that Olaf Scholz, together with French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, would signal that Ukraine could become a candidate for EU membership. “It would raise the morale of the Ukrainians and clearly show Russia that the EU unanimously supports a free Ukraine,” he concluded. “I am sure that we will soon receive an answer regarding the status of a candidate for Ukraine. I am convinced that this decision can strengthen not only our state, but the entire European Union. What else needs to happen in Europe to make it clear to skeptics that the very fact that Ukraine stays outside the European Union, the European Union, works against Europe?” – President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said about the expectations from this visit. – This is quite a promising and good visit for Ukraine. He shows that even pro-Russian Europeans realize that by ignoring Ukraine and helping it, they fall into political isolation. Now their rhetoric will change in favor of Kyiv. Macron, declaring the need to “save the face of Russia”, said this in the calculation of the parliamentary elections in France, the first round of which was held this Sunday. He got a good result and now he can not be played as a peacemaker. As for the promises of Ukraine's accession to the European Union, Macron and Scholz will continue to try to prevent this. Regarding the war, they can offer something like “Minsk-3”, but Ukraine will not go for it. – Two themes are expected from the visit of the three leaders in Kyiv: the supply of weapons and promises regarding Ukraine's accession to the EU. Most likely, they will bring to Kyiv a specific list of weapons that they are ready to supply. Arriving empty-handed will not look good to them. As for the European Union, they are likely to declare support for Ukraine's accession to the EU. Italian Prime Minister Draghi has already announced this earlier, and now Macron and Scholz can support her. “While many world leaders have already traveled to Kyiv, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Scholz has not yet traveled there. He has previously said that the Ukrainian government's decision not to receive German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier means that he will not go himself. On Saturday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Kyiv for the second time for talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky. She said the Commission would give a clear assessment of Ukraine's EU bid by the end of the week. “None of the three leaders has been in Kyiv since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February. French President Emmanuel Macron has sought to maintain a dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin since the beginning of the war. His position has been criticized by some Eastern and Baltic partners in Europe as they see it as undermining efforts to push Putin to the negotiating table.” “This will be the first time these leaders have arrived in Ukraine since Russia invaded the country on February 24th. The EU's executive body will assess Ukraine's eligibility for EU membership by the end of next week. If the assessment is positive, then the 27 EU member states will need to decide whether to allow Ukraine to start negotiations to join the bloc. Zelensky said that the admission of Ukraine “can strengthen not only our state, but the entire European Union.” “Since the beginning of March, the Prime Minister of the Social Democratic Party in Germany Olaf Scholz was the target of harsh criticism for not making a solidarity visit to Kyiv. Scholz, who has been heavily criticized for refraining from sending heavy weapons to Ukraine, will reportedly travel to Kyiv at the end of the month, along with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and French President Emmanuel Macron. Ukraine has officially applied for EU membership. However, there are members of the Union who warmly welcome the membership of Ukraine, as well as members who have reservations, including Germany and France – heavyweights of the Union.
What to expect from the arrival of the heads of the three leading European countries
Expert opinion
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