Normandy underformat: Photos from the meeting between Zelensky and Macron are being discussed on the Internet
Vladimir Zelensky visited Paris on Friday, where he complained to Emmanuel Macron about Russia for the escalation in Donbass. Angela Merkel also joined the negotiations, but via video link. The trio called on Russia to withdraw its troops from the borders with Ukraine. Russian leader Vladimir Putin himself, as the Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly reported, does not see the advisability of meetings with Zelensky, since he has not fulfilled any of the agreements reached and insists on changing the Minsk agreements. But Zelensky in France convinced the opposite: “Our side is doing everything, step by step. We are people of our word,” Zelensky assured.
The only concrete result is that new negotiations on Donbass were announced for April 19 at the level of advisers to the presidents of the Normandy Four. Zelensky also publicly asked to announce at least the approximate time frame for the possible receipt of an action plan for membership in NATO and the European Union, but he never heard them. “Ukraine is a powerful, persistent country that wants not only to pose questions, but also to receive answers, but in life, not everything happens so quickly,” Zelensky said following the meeting with Macron.
“The bottom line of Zelensky’s trip to negotiations with Merkel and Macron: support in general – yes, admission to the EU and NATO – no. And, of course, neither the Germans nor the French are ready to fight for Ukraine,” comments Senator Alexey Pushkov.
Russian political scientist Alexei Martynov believes that there will be no meeting between Putin and Zelensky in the near future: “Of course, it’s Macron’s personal business with whom and what to talk about, and Merkel is her own boss, but the level of conversations with Zelensky is the head of the relevant department of the Russian Presidential Administration.”
Against the backdrop of a generally empty trip to Paris, commentators pay attention to photographs taken following the meeting. In particular, for the rather strange dress of the wife of the French president for such an event.
And the Ukrainian public was amused by Zelensky’s glasses, which for some reason he forced his press secretary Yulia Mendel to wear. These shots were taken during a press conference that the Ukrainian president held in the backyard of the Elysee Palace. Observers immediately remembered how Petro Poroshenko once held a briefing outside the White House fence.
English version :: Read in English: Normandy's under-format: The internet is discussing a photo from the meeting between Zelensky and Macron