The overnight special train from Poland arrived at Kiev's central railway station carrying French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.
The three leaders of the EU's biggest nations are visiting the Ukrainian capital 113 days after the Russian invasion began on February 24 in their first trip to Kiev since the start of the war.
A trip organized in top secret for security reasons for weeks with Bild giving the background from the German side. Wearing jeans and a short-sleeved shirt, Scholz took off from Berlin shortly after 19:30 last night in the Prime Minister's Airbus accompanied by bodyguards from the BKA's special unit for foreign missions and landed at Poland's Rzeszow airport shortly before 20:00. By road, the team headed for the border with Ukraine and arrived at the point of departure of the special train.
The carriage allocated to Scholz was at the end, that of Macron in the middle. The French president had taken food and drinks with him for the 11-hour journey, Solts and his armoured escorts chocolates. The last to arrive, almost half an hour late, was Draghi, who settled into the first carriage with his bodyguards.
Passport control with Kalashnikovs at the Ukrainian border
Twelve minutes before midnight the train with the three leaders departed and at 00:01 stopped at the Ukrainian border with soldiers armed with Kalashnikovs boarding for passport control.
The trip by Solts, Macron and Draghi comes at a critical juncture with fighting escalating in eastern Ukraine and defenders urgently demanding new weapons from the West. Tomorrow the Commission is expected to announce its recommendation on Ukraine's EU membership aspirations, but all 27 will have to decide unanimously in order for Ukraine to be granted immediate candidate status and European capitals appear divided.
Solts, Macron and Draghi talked for 80 minutes
The three leaders therefore had much to discuss regarding Ukraine's membership issue and at 00:54 they met in Macron's carriage, with the plush seats, wooden surfaces and curtains reminiscent of something from an Orient Express. For an hour and 20 minutes, the three were cooped up in the carriage, discussing, before finally leaving at 02:17 to rest before the busy day ahead.
Due to the war, airspace in Ukraine is closed, so foreign leaders can only travel to Kiev by rail. A "diplomacy train" poster hangs in the train corridor with photos of politicians who have recently visited the Ukrainian capital, including Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and British and Canadian Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Justin Trudeau. It will soon include one with Macron, Solts and Draghi.
The President of Romania is also in Kiev
Another European leader, the President of Romania, Klaus Johanis, is arriving in Kiev. During the preparations for the trip, the three Western Europeans realized that it would be a good idea to take an Eastern European with them to reinforce Europe's message of unity against the Russian threat.
The proposal to Johanis was made by Macron, but because there was no longer a carriage available for him on the train, he travelled alone from Bucharest to Kiev.
What European leaders will discuss with Zelensky
Zelensky will receive European leaders at the Mariinsky Palace, the seat of the Ukrainian presidency, for crucial discussions ahead of the EU summit on 23 and 24 June. In addition to Macron's military support, Solts and Draghi will discuss with Zelensky Ukraine's request for EU membership. France, Germany and Italy are in favour of such a prospect but not immediately, while Ukraine expects the summit to await a decision by the 27 to start accession negotiations, which could take several years.
The trip took weeks to organise with the three leaders seeking to respond to criticism within Ukraine over its response to the Russian invasion. A press conference is scheduled for the afternoon, followed by a "private dinner."
Macron is likely to walk the streets of Kiev and also meet with French experts involved in Ukrainian investigations into war crimes by Russian forces.
The three leaders are scheduled to leave in the evening in the same way and Macron is expected to return to Paris tomorrow afternoon.
Concern in Kiev about any pressure to accept a peace deal that would favour Putin
Kiev has criticised France, Germany and to a lesser extent Italy for delaying the delivery of weapons systems and putting their own welfare above Ukraine's freedom and security.
An adviser to the Ukrainian president, Oleksiy Arrestovich, expressed his concern to the German newspaper Bild the other day that the three European leaders would pressure Kiev to accept a peace deal that favors Russian President Vladimir Putin. "They will say that the war, which is causing a food crisis and economic problems, must end ... that Mr Putin's dignity must be restored," he said, referring to Macron's recent comments that "Russia must not be humiliated."
Referring to Kiev's specific concern, Mario Draghi said Tuesday that it was important to start peace talks as soon as possible, but "on terms that Ukraine will find acceptable."
Zelensky is expected to press European leaders to send more weapons to Ukraine to help defenders fend off Russian invaders. Ukraine has been particularly critical of Germany for its military aid, and its ambassador to Berlin, Andriy Melnik, told German network NTV that he expects the Solz government to finally send the heavy weapons it has long promised. Scholz rejects Kiev's accusations that it is delaying the delivery of the weapons, saying Germany is one of Ukraine's biggest military and economic supporters and that it takes time to train Ukrainian soldiers in the use of the sophisticated artillery systems his country offers.
Source: iefimerida.gr
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Cyprus Times
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Times
Source
