Kuleba says non-alignment issue not raised during Macron’s Kyiv visit

This was stated by Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who spoke at a press conference hosted by Ukrinform, responding to a question from an agency correspondent.

"The issue of Ukraine's renunciation of Euro-Atlantic aspirations was not raised yesterday," Kuleba said.

He added that the conversation between the presidents of Ukraine and France was very specific.

"But I assure you that no ‘betrayals’ have happened, and they couldn’t have happened, so the president of Ukraine is very clearly aware of and protects our nation’s interests," said the head of Ukrainian diplomacy.

According to Kuleba, the president of France personally impressed him with how deeply he understood all the nuances of the functioning of the Trilateral Contact Group and what needs to be done to unlock its work.

"This is evidence that he is really not superficial, but deeply engaged in the issue, sincerely trying to find a solution," said Kuleba.

In response to a clarifying question about the proposals with which the French president arrived in Kyiv, the foreign minister said that "President Macron arrived with thoughts, not proposals."

"Now we are in a phase where the parties, communicating with each other, try to understand the limits of acceptable compromises and steps to be taken to bring the situation out of the deadlock… Yesterday there was a discussion of ideas, but it was not a discussion of concrete proposals," Kuleba noted.

According to some media reports, despite the fact that French President Emmanuel Macron denies that diplomats are discussing the issue of "Finlandization", that is, Ukraine’s non-alignment status, it still lies in the plane of diplomatic discourse.

Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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