PARIS, December 13. /TASS/. The next meeting on economic support for Kiev will be held in London in 2023, French President Emmanuel Macron said.

"We will meet next year in London to continue our work," Macron said at the opening of a conference on financial aid to Ukraine in Paris on Tuesday.

The French leader said the conference, which kicked off in Paris, was convened to continue the discussions held in Switzerland and Germany over the past months.

Winter needs

"We organized this conference to ensure that Ukraine gets through the winter period. We wanted the results to be very concrete," the French leader said, "It is about mobilizing Ukraine's partners and the countries involved in the delivery of humanitarian aid, for the sake of ensuring the functioning of critical infrastructure to allow the population to survive this winter."

Macron said that for its part, France has already allocated 151.5 million euros for this purpose since the beginning of the year and planned to increase its contribution by another 48.5 million euros. Out of these, 27 million euros will be used to meet "urgent winter needs," and the rest will be used to help displaced people and children, including in terms of food delivery and psychological support.

At the same time, thanks to the initiative under the European Commission auspices, France plans to allocate 76.5 million euros for the reconstruction of Ukraine's energy sector. This program will include the delivery of "63 high-capacity electric generators and a range of transformers in addition to the 100 already delivered in November." "All of this will ensure a new overall effort," Macron stressed.

Budget Deficit

The conference on securing financial support for Ukraine is being chaired by Macron. This time, according to him, the discussions include countries that have previously played a less prominent role in helping Kiev.

According to the organizers of the meeting, it is being attended by 70 "high-ranking" delegates. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal, who arrived in Paris, warned that Kiev was counting on the West’s large-scale macroeconomic assistance in financing Ukraine’s budget, which has been drawn up with a multibillion-dollar deficit.