Zelensky, at the Elysee. Macron promises that the war in the East will not provide a “respite” for Russia

French President Emmanuel Macron, welcoming his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky to the Elysee Palace on Friday, said Russia was “wrong” if it hoped the war in the Middle East would give it a “respite”, playing down the temporary lifting of US sanctions on Russian oil.

“Nothing will divert us from Ukraine,” French President Emmanuel Macron said, according to Agence France Presse, cited by Agerpres. “Today, Russia may think that the war in Iran will give it a respite. It is wrong,” he added.

“The context of the increase in oil prices must in no way make us revise our sanctions policy towards Russia, that is the position that the G7 maintains,” Macron said.

The United States, which is part of the G7, on Thursday authorized the sale of Russian oil stored on ships until April 11, amid a sharp increase in the price of crude oil.

Russia, a major hydrocarbon power, needs money to fund its war effort in Ukraine, where it has launched a full-scale invasion in 2022.

Emmanuel Macron, however, estimated that the American decision was taken “exceptionally and limitedly” and “does not come back in a sustainable and extensive manner on the sanctions that the US itself decided” in the G7.

Volodymyr Zelensky, on the contrary, assessed that it will lead to a “strengthening of Russia's position” and “certainly does not contribute to peace”.

According to the Ukrainian president, this “relaxation” of sanctions could bring Russia “about 10 billion dollars” which it will spend on drones and other weaponry.

These drones are being used in Ukraine, but they will also be used against Moscow's ally Iran's “neighbors” and Westerners present in the area, Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned. “Lifting sanctions only to have more drones come to attack you later is not, in my opinion, the right decision.”

Russia has said Tehran has not asked it for military aid. The American press instead evoked a transmission of Russian intelligence information to help Iran hit targets.

The Ukrainian president's visit to Paris, his 12th since 2022, comes as the conflict sparked on February 28 by the US and Israel against Iran monopolizes the world's attention.

A French soldier was killed and six others wounded Thursday evening in an Iranian-designed drone attack in Iraqi Kurdistan, French authorities said. It was a Shahed drone, according to a French colonel, meaning the same type of drone used almost every day by Russia in Ukraine.

Ukraine plans to capitalize on its experience to combat Iranian drones, an experience considered “unparalleled” by the Elysee Palace.

Ukrainian military experts have traveled to several Gulf countries recently to share their experience in intercepting Iranian-designed drones, and Volodymyr Zelenskiy proposed “to develop all this in cooperation with European countries.”

Macron promises EU loan to Ukraine will be delivered

Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelenskiy had a meeting before their joint press conference, followed by a private working lunch.

The two leaders also addressed the 90 billion euro loan promised by European Union leaders to Kiev in December.

The first tranches are blocked by Hungary, which demands that Ukraine quickly resume the transport of Russian crude oil to Hungary through the Drujba pipeline, damaged by a Moscow bombing, according to Ukrainian authorities.

The French president assured “strongly and clearly” that the loan will be delivered because “it is the duty of every nation to respect the promises made”.

The issue will be back on the agenda of the 27 member states at next week's EU summit in Brussels.

Another topic on the agenda of the visit, Ukraine's armament needs.

President Zelenskiy, who needs high-performance air defense systems for his country to repel Russian attacks, told the publication Ouest-France that he wants to get the next-generation Franco-Italian SAMP-T systems “as soon as possible”.

In Ukraine, a Russian missile strike in the Kharkiv region left at least three dead and four wounded early Friday, according to local authorities.