French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed Monday during an exchange with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky the resumption of grain transport from the port of Odessa, saying that “European efforts” will continue to help kyiv export its grains, according to the Elysée. The two leaders spoke by telephone for 1h30, their first exchange since their meeting on June 16 in Ukraine in kyiv, where Emmanuel Macron had gone with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.
European efforts will continue in Odessa, says Macron
From Fort Brégançon in the Var, where he spends his holidays, Emmanuel Macron “welcomed the departure from the port of Odessa of a first ship carrying Ukrainian cereals” and “indicated that European efforts to export Ukrainian cereals by land and river routes will continue as part of the solidarity corridors,” said the Elysée.
For the first time since the start of the Russian invasion six months ago, a boat loaded with 26,000 tonnes of maize left Odessa on the Black Sea for the port of Tripoli in Lebanon, in accordance with an international agreement aimed at alleviate the global food crisis.
Zelensky again questioned about his military needs
During the exchange, Emmanuel Macron “reaffirmed his support for the Ukrainian people and their resistance”, while saying “his determination to ensure” that “the war crimes” which “are increasing” do not “remain unpunished,” said the presidency.
He again questioned Volodymyr Zelensky on “his military, humanitarian and economic needs”, confirming to him “France’s desire to continue supporting the Ukrainian armed forces in order to enable them to resist Russia’s aggression. “, according to the Elysee. He also affirmed “his desire to provide short-term macroeconomic support” to Ukraine, without going into details.
Macron accuses Russia of “colonial imperial power” in Africa
Emmanuel Macron also reconsidered his statements during his recent tour of Cameroon, Benin and Guinea-Bissau, during which he warned African countries against “the hybrid war” that Moscow is waging, in particular on “the informational”. The two presidents “agreed to continue their joint efforts to counter Russian disinformation on a global scale”, specifies the Elysée.
In Cotonou, he accused Russia on Wednesday of being “one of the last colonial imperial powers”.