President Macron says Ukraine needs strong signal from EU

French President Emmanuel Macron has said, Europe needed to send a strong signal to Ukraine as he sought to assuage concerns in Kyiv and among some European allies over his previous stance towards Moscow. He delivered a statement during his visit to NATO forces at the Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, near the city of Constanta, Romania on Wednesday.  Macronis in Romania for a three-day trip to Ukraine's eastern neighbours including Moldova. Macron said a message of support must be sent to Ukraine before EU heads of state and government have to make important decisions at their Brussels meeting. The French president also mentioned the need to find ways to allow Ukrainian grain exports. All these reasons ... justify deep discussions and new steps, he said.

Macron is deeply involved in diplomatic efforts to push for a cease-fire in Ukraine that would allow future peace negotiations. He has frequent discussions with Zelenskyy and has spoken on the phone several times with Russian President Vladimir Putin since he launched the invasion in late February. Macron underlined the EU's military, economic and humanitarian support to Ukraine. But we want to build peace," he said. Which means that at some point, we all want a cease-fire and discussions to start again. He is expected to visit Kyiv on Thursday with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis. The visit would come a day before the European Commission makes a recommendation on Ukraine's status as an EU candidate.