Today, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France Catherine Colonna.
Zelenskyy expressed gratitude to French President Emmanuel Macron for the support of Ukraine, which he expressed during his speech at the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, as well as for his personal efforts in negotiating the visit of the IAEA mission to the Zaporizhzhya NPP.
Zelenskyy appreciated the humanitarian support from First Lady of France Brigitte Macron and noted an important meeting of the First Ladies of the two states on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
According to him, "clear signals from France, which is our reliable partner, are very important to us".
Zelenskyy added that Ukraine expects the harshest possible reaction of international partners to the pseudo-referendums held by Russia in the occupied territories.
"We expect both powerful sanctions in the eighth EU sanctions package against Russia and individual clear signals about what will happen if the Russian Federation recognizes these artificial 'referendums'," the president said.
Zelenskyy expressed confidence that Nato member states should show the whole world that they guarantee security to any state on the European continent. He stressed the importance of strengthening defence support for Ukraine.
In addition, the president thanked the French government for the assistance provided to Ukraine while it is resisting Russian aggression.
Zelenskyy noted France's leadership in granting Ukraine the status of candidate for accession to the EU. He expressed confidence that Ukraine would continue to make progress on this path.
Catherine Colonna conveyed congratulations from Emmanuel Macron to the president of Ukraine and stated that "the French people admire the courage of the Ukrainian people" and that "France will stand by Ukraine for as long as necessary".
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna arrived in Kyiv on an official visit today. According to her, France will continue to support the territorial integrity of Ukraine and will never recognize the pseudo-referendums organized by Russia in the temporarily occupied territories.