Blinken is in Paris today to hold talks with Macron on support for Ukraine

Today, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is in Paris to hold talks with French President Emmanuel Macron on supporting Ukraine in the war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine and the Israeli-Hamas conflict, UNN reports citing France24.

Details

Blinken will meet with Macron to discuss the growing international crisis, the French president's office told AFP. He will also hold talks with French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne.

In February, France hosted an international conference in an effort to mobilize financial and military support for Ukraine. The results will be reviewed by Blinken and French leaders, officials said.

Both sides want to increase support for Ukraine, a person close to Sezhurna said.

The French minister was in Cairo on Saturday to discuss the war in the Gaza Strip, and on Monday in China to urge Beijing to put pressure on Russia over the war in Ukraine.

The French Foreign Ministry reported that Sejourne and Blinken will discuss preparations for the NATO summit in Washington in July, as well as the "crises" in the Middle East, Ukraine, and Sudan.

After the meeting, they will hold a joint press conference.

As part of the symbolic visit, Blinken was reportedly to accompany French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecorne to a factory near Paris of the Franco-German defense group KNDS, which produces artillery pieces used in Ukraine.

Blinken is also expected to visit the Paris headquarters of the United Nations cultural organization, UNESCO, which the United States joined last year. Blinken will meet with UNESCO Director Audrey Azoulay.

After Paris, Blinken will reportedly travel to Brussels for talks between NATO foreign ministers ahead of the summit dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Alliance, which will take place in July in Washington.

Blinken will also hold a trilateral meeting in Brussels with EU leaders and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, "who is seeking to move beyond his country's historic alliance with Russia," the publication points out.

Addendum

This visit to France will be the first trip to the country for Blinken, who speaks fluent French, in almost two years. Macron paid a state visit to Washington in December 2022.