Presidents Biden and Macron to discuss Ukraine support in Paris

Presidents of France and the United States: Emmanuel Macron and Joe Biden will meet on June 8 during Biden's visit to France; their discussions will include support for Ukraine - the Élysée Palace said on Thursday. The visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will conclude a day earlier.

Earlier, on June 6, President Biden will participate in France in the celebrations commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy.

"Both presidents will discuss the need for unwavering, long-term support for Ukraine at a time when war has returned to Europe, 80 years after the landing that led to the liberation of France and the continent from Nazi German occupation," said Macron's office.

During the visit to France, U.S. President Joe Biden will participate in the 80th-anniversary celebrations of the Allied landings in Normandy, deliver a speech on the defence of democracy, and discuss global and military cooperation issues with President Emmanuel Macron, the White House said.

As White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated in a release, Biden will depart for France on June 5 and participate in the ceremonies commemorating the Allied forces landing on Normandy the next day. On June 7, at the site of the battle by American soldiers at Pointe de Hoc, he will deliver a speech on defending freedom and democracy, and on June 8 he will be received for a state visit in Paris by Macron, with whom he will discuss a "wide range of global and bilateral challenges", including defence cooperation.

The White House has yet to announce further travel plans for the President in Europe, who is also set to participate in the G7 leaders' summit in Apulia, Italy, from June 13-15. It is not yet known whether Biden will also attend the peace summit on the war in Ukraine that is being organized in Switzerland.

Next week, the main ceremonies in Normandy will be attended by 25 heads of state and government, as well as dozens of World War II veterans, to honour nearly 160,000 soldiers from the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and other countries who landed on June 6, 1944.

According to "Le Monde" on Thursday, the French authorities are seeking to create a coalition of European countries willing to train Ukrainian soldiers; this involves several hundred French and European instructors. It was noted that the matter has not been finalized.

"Nothing has been finalized yet, but sending French and European instructors to Ukraine could be a matter of weeks, or even days," the newspaper reported. Citing its own sources, it reports that the French authorities want to form a coalition of countries that would like to train Ukrainian forces on-site.

According to these reports, it involves several hundred specialists from several countries. France, in particular, would help in forming a new motorized brigade.

Consultations on this matter, as "Le Monde" reports, should accelerate in the coming days to potentially announce a decision during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to France on June 6 and 7. Zelenskyy is expected to arrive for the 80th anniversary celebrations of the Allied landings in Normandy. According to the newspaper, Macron "could unveil the outlines of such an initiative at that time."