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Macron, Zelensky discuss acceleration of military assistance to Kiev – TV

According to the representative of the Elysee Palace, the French president also confirmed his commitment to the "Zelensky plan" of 10 points and assured his Ukrainian colleague that he would support his initiative in the international arena

PARIS, February 20. /TASS/. French President Emmanuel Macron spoke over the phone with his Ukrainian counterpart, Vladimir Zelensky, to discuss issues of accelerating military assistance to Kiev, France’s BFM television channel reported on Sunday, citing an Elysee Palace spokesman.

According to the spokesman, the presidents "discussed commitments undertaken by European partners and NATO countries during the Munich Security Conference concerning the necessity to strengthen and accelerate military support for Ukraine."

"The French president reiterated his commitment to Zelensky’s ten-point plan and promised to support this initiative in the international arena during next diplomatic events," he added.

The Munich Security Conference was held on February 17-19.

By now, France has sent to Ukraine 18 Caesar self-propelled howitzers and two batteries of Crotale air defense systems. In December, Macron said that France planned to provide Kiev with a new batch of weapons and munitions in early 2023. Apart from that, France’s ministry of the armed forces said earlier that an agreement on sending a Ground Master 200 (GM200) radar to Ukraine was signed on February 1. It was also reported that an agreement had been signed with Italy on the purchase of around 700 Aster 30 rockets for the SAMP/T air defense systems (known as Mamba in France).

French Minister of the Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu said on Saturday that French AMX-10RC wheeled tanks will reach Ukraine at the end of the next week.

In his video address to the Group of Twenty summit in mid-November, Zelensky said that Kiev has a ten-provision peace plan, which includes in particular ensuring nuclear, food and energy security, exchange of detainees under the all-for-all formula, restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Meanwhile, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that the Kremlin knew nothing about this plan and noted that Zelensky’s statements on peaceful settlement are made without taking into account the current situation.

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Ukraine France Emmanuel Macron Vladimir Zelensky

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