A French diplomatic source said France would like to see Ukraine regain control of Crimea as part of a military victory over Russia.
These statements came as the leaders of France, Germany and Italy are visiting Kyiv. The source was speaking to the gathering of journalists traveling with the French delegation on Thursday.
“We are in order to achieve a complete victory with the restoration of territorial integrity over all the lands occupied by the Russians, including Crimea,” the French official said, referring to the Black Sea peninsula that Russia forcibly annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
Once the war is over, the diplomatic source said, talks will be necessary to determine the type of security guarantees for Ukraine and the relationship between Ukraine and NATO, in order to “see how we build a lasting peace.”
“What is at stake is the security of all of us,” they said, adding that “Ukrainian military victory is determined by Zelensky.”
Some basic information: French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi arrived in Kyiv on Thursday.
The three leaders traveled to Kyiv by train, where they are expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and express a “message of European unity”.
Speaking to reporters on the sidewalk upon arrival at the Kyiv train station, Macron said the leaders would also visit the site of an alleged massacre.
Asked if he had a message for Ukrainians, Macron said he had a “message of European unity addressed to Ukrainian men and women”.
“The coming weeks, as we know, will be very difficult,” he said. “I want to support them and be on their side.”
CNN’s Pierre Byrin in Kyiv contributed to this post.
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