Zelensky's Paris Dash: Last Minute But Crucial For Macron
Umer Jamshaid Published February 09, 2023 | 10:00 AM
Paris, Feb 9 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Feb, 2023 ) :Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's late evening stop-off in Paris Wednesday, arranged at the last minute, was crucial to French President Emmanuel Macon even if the reception paled into comparison with his pageantry-filled visit to London the same day.
Macron has sought to push back against accusations France has been wary of giving full-throated support to Ukraine in the face of the conflict which began almost a year ago.
Britain, by contrast, is proud of highlighting Kyiv's cause even before the start of the offensive, warning an invasion was imminent.
In London, Zelensky had an audience with King Charles III and was granted the rare honour of addressing parliament as a foreign head of state.
His trip to Paris was far more hurried -- an evening arrival at Paris Orly airport just before 10:00 pm followed by a dinner at the Elysee Palace, wedged into the late hours of the night after Zelensky spent the entire day in London.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz headed from Berlin to Paris specially for the occasion.
Ahead of the talks with both men, Zelensky acknowledged that the event was "spontaneous" in nature. Somewhat symbolically, he arrived at Paris Orly airport on a UK government plane, its tail festooned with the union jack flag.
Initially, it was expected that Zelensky would be in Brussels Wednesday evening ahead of a possible summit with EU leaders Thursday.
Dinner at the Elysee Palace in Paris was arranged at the last minute, a source close to the issue told AFP.
Analysts said Macron clearly had no intention of being upstaged by the British, whose foreign policy clout is seen by many as weaker after Brexit.
If Zelensky had not come to Paris, it "would have been a failure for Emmanuel Macron, a diminishing of his status," said Michel Duclos, a former diplomat and special advisor to the Institut Montaigne think tank.
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