France “will not betray Ukraine”, assures its Finance Minister Roland Lescure

France “will not betray Ukraine,” assured French Finance Minister Roland Lescure this Sunday, October 11, describing Volodymyr Zelensky as a “hero,” in response to the statements of Donald Trump who called for a change of president in Ukraine and forged an agreement with Russia for the delivery of diesel.

The day before, the American president had criticized kyiv's strikes on Russian refineries and estimated that Ukraine should "get a new president", harsh remarks made the day after the surprise announcement of an agreement between Washington and Moscow for the massive purchase of Russian diesel, accompanied by a relaxation of American sanctions weighing on Russia.

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Asked on France 2 and France Inter whether this gave him “the feeling” of being “faced with a betrayal of Ukraine”, Roland Lescure replied: “in any case, what I can tell you is that we will not betray Ukraine”. He then referred to the meeting of European foreign ministers scheduled for Monday in Luxembourg. “We are going to look at the extension of sanctions on Russia”, which we are “in no way” trying to “reduce”, he explained. “We have been at Ukraine’s side from the beginning and we will be there until the end.”

“A hell of a president”

Volodymyr Zelensky said “he was ready to stop attacks on Russian refineries if Russia in return stopped attacks on energy infrastructure,” recalled Roland Lescure. “Ukraine has harsh winters,” so “the subject today is “are we able to protect Ukraine?”,” he argued.

Asked about a possible effect of the agreement on Russian diesel on prices on a global scale, Roland Lescure replied “we will see”. “What I know today is that Volodymyr Zelensky is a real hero, that thanks to him, Ukraine has resisted an invasion war for four years,” he continued.

“The Ukrainian people are the only ones today able to choose their leader and if they want to change their leader one day, they will do so according to democratic rules, but today, Volodymyr Zelensky is the president of Ukraine, and he is a hell of a president,” he said. In September, Roland Lescure denounced Moscow's takeover of assets of French companies still established in Russia, such as Auchan and the former Leroy Merlin, describing them as a “hostile” act towards France.