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UKRAINE

Zelensky discussed Macron’s China visit with French president

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday he discussed with Emmanuel Macron his visit to China, after the French president raised ire over remarks he made relating to Taiwan.

Zelensky discussed Macron's China visit with French president
France's President Emmanuel Macron (R) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky walk on the tarmac of Velizy-Villacoublay airbase as they prepare to board a flight together in February 2023. Photo: MOHAMMED BADRA / POOL/AFP

The two leaders also “discussed the next steps in the organisation of a peace summit,” Macron’s office said in a statement.

Zelensky in December proposed a global summit to chart a path to peace in Ukraine, however no details emerged from the call on what is planned.

“I had almost an hour and a half conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron… The results of President Macron’s recent visit to China were discussed,” Zelensky said on social media.

Macron, who visited China last week, raised hackles on both sides of the Atlantic last weekend in an interview in which he said Europe should not be a “follower” of either Washington or Beijing or get caught up in any escalation over Taiwan.

The French president stood by his controversial comments on Wednesday on a visit to Amsterdam, saying that being a US ally did not mean being a “vassal”.

Macron’s visit to China was dominated by discussions on the war in Ukraine, with  Beijing being a close partner of Moscow.

Zelensky said he had expressed gratitude to his French counterpart for “condemning the terrible and inhumane execution of a Ukrainian soldier by Russian war criminals”.

That comment referred to the emergence of a video apparently showing the beheading of a Ukrainian prisoner, which has prompted international outrage.

Russian authorities said Thursday they were examining the images to determine their authenticity.

On Saturday Macron reaffirmed that “France stands by the Ukrainian and international courts to ensure that no crime committed in the context of Russian aggression goes unpunished,” according to the Elysee.

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UKRAINE

France charges two Moldovans over coffin graffiti in Paris

French prosecutors on Saturday charged two Moldovans suspected of painting coffins and a slogan urging an end to Ukraine war on the facade of a prominent Paris newspaper, a judicial source said.

France charges two Moldovans over coffin graffiti in Paris

It was just the latest in a series of such acts in the capital in recent weeks. French officials have repeatedly warned of the risks of disinformation and other attacks by Russia over France’s support for Kyiv.

Tension between Paris and Moscow has increased since President Emmanuel Macron said earlier this year he had not ruled out sending troops to Ukraine.

The two men, who carried Moldovan passports, were arrested overnight Thursday-Friday after six red coffins and the phrase “Stop the Death, Mriya, Ukraine” were painted on the building of right-wing daily Le Figaro. Mriya means “dream” in Ukrainian.

They are being held on charges of destruction of property and participating in “an effort to demoralise the army to harm national defence in peacetime”, the source said.

Six similar coffins were found early Thursday on the facade of the Agence France-Presse headquarters in central Paris, not far from the Figaro offices.

A source close to the case said the two Moldovans claimed to have been paid around €100 to paint the graffiti.

A separate investigations has been opened after graffiti showing French Mirage fighter jets in the form of coffins were found last Tuesday in three districts of Paris. They included the phrase “Mirages for Ukraine”.

Similar graffiti was discovered on the walls of the AFP building Monday.

Macron announced in early June that France would send Mirage-2000 fighter jets to Ukraine and train their Ukrainian pilots as part of a new military cooperation with Kyiv.

On June 8, French police said they were holding three young Moldovans suspected of being behind inscriptions of coffins in Paris with the slogan “French soldiers in Ukraine”.

They were later charged with property damage and released.

Moldova’s Foreign Minister Mihai Popsoi posted on X, formerly Twitter: “We regret and firmly condemn the incident”.

He said the “vandalism” was “part of hybrid tactics to harm our international image”.

Popsoi reiterated his comment on Saturday, denouncing an “instigation to hate”.

“We call on Moldovan citizens to be vigilant and not to allow themselves to be manipulated to the detriment of our country.”

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