Zelenskyy held a conversation with Macron in Brussels

The meeting, as planned, took place in Brussels.

Macron’s Statement

Macron noted that he wanted to provide general information to Zelenskyy before visiting the French overseas department of Mayotte, which was hit by the most powerful cyclone of the last century.

Avant de me rendre auprès des Mahorais, au Conseil européen j’ai tenu à faire un point d’ensemble avec le Président @ZelenskyyUa.

La France reste, comme au premier jour, aux côtés de l’Ukraine et du peuple ukrainien pour faire échec à la guerre d’agression de la Russie. pic.twitter.com/4YVxK7GhGo

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) December 18, 2024

"France, as on the first day, stands alongside Ukraine and the Ukrainian people to defeat Russia’s war of aggression," Macron emphasized.

Zelenskyy’s Statement

In turn, Zelenskyy called the meeting with his French counterpart "productive."

"We had a detailed one-on-one conversation, focused on key priorities to further strengthen Ukraine’s position against Russian aggression. A clear focus remains enhancing air defence capabilities," wrote the Ukrainian president on Twitter (X).

Zelenskyy expressed gratitude to France for preparing one brigade for the Ukrainian army.

"We agreed to continue this cooperation and prepare another brigade. We hope other partners will join these efforts, contributing to the equipping of additional Ukrainian brigades," said the head of state.

According to Zelenskyy, the parties share "a common vision: reliable guarantees are necessary for peace that can truly be achieved."

"We continued to work on President Macron’s initiative regarding the presence in Ukraine of forces that could contribute to stabilizing the path to peace," the Ukrainian president’s statement reads.

Zelenskyy added that Macron informed him about his communication "with other partners aimed at ensuring that all necessary steps for peace are taken."

I had a productive meeting with French President @EmmanuelMacron. We had a detailed one-on-one discussion, focusing on key priorities to further strengthen Ukraine’s position against Russian aggression. A clear focus remains enhancing air defense capabilities.

I expressed… pic.twitter.com/LsVjA8MRge

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 18, 2024