FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron shakes hands with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as he arrives for a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, October 10, 2024. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed his support for Ukraine and reiterated his condemnation of an escalation in Russia's attacks against the country in a phone call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said the two leaders.
A statement from Macron's office said Macron held his phone call with Zelenskiy on Friday, during which Macron "condemned in the strongest possible terms Russia's indiscriminate attacks which are consistently intensifying against towns, civilian populations and against Ukraine's energy infrastructure."
A separate statement from Zelenskiy on the Telegram social media platform said Zelenskiy had again stressed to Macron the importance of a NATO invitation to Ukraine.
"I had a productive telephone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron. I thanked him for France's readiness to help with generally strengthening Ukraine's air defence capabilities and for general support and speeding up the transfer of Mirage aircraft," said Zelenskiy.
(Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau and Ronald Popeski; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)
