Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented on the statement of the President of France Emmanuel Macron about the "fraternity" of Ukraine and russia.
During a joint press conference with the Presidents of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, Zelenskyy said he would like to discuss his statement with Macron.
At the same time, Zelenskyy noted that he had not personally heard this statement from the President of France.
"On the issue of France. Honestly, I have not heard this statement from the President of the French Republic ... We do not lose any details; such things are very painful for us. If it is true, I will do as much as possible to discuss this issue with him today. If not today, then tomorrow, when he has the time," Zelenskyy said.
Macron, who received the greatest support from the French in the first round of the new presidential election, refused to call russia's actions in the war against Ukraine genocide and called russians and Ukrainians “brothers”. At the same time, the Presidents of Poland and the United States are convinced that President Putin is deliberately destroying the Ukrainian nation.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reacted to Macron's words and stressed that Ukraine and russia were close due to historical circumstances, but the "fraternity of nations" is fictional. "Ukraine and Russia are historically close for objective reasons, but the myth of the two fraternal peoples of russia and Ukraine began to crumble after the occupation of Crimea and aggression in Donbas in 2014.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko stressed that after the mass crimes and murders committed by the russian military in Ukraine, no one has a moral right to talk about "brotherhood".
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that Ukrainians and russians are "fraternal peoples". But this did not stop him from occupying the Crimea and part of Donbass, and on February 24, 2022 - to issue an order on a new military invasion of Ukraine.