French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot warned during a visit to Kyiv on Oct. 19 that a Russian victory over Ukraine would bring "chaos" to the international system.
Barrot's comments came as Russian forces continued their offensive in Ukraine’s east, including the capture of the key town of Vuhledar in early October.
Barrot's visit was intended to reaffirm France's strong support for Ukraine following President Volodymyr Zelensky's unveiling of his victory plan to defeat Russia. The plan includes a call for increased Western military support.
"A Russian victory would consecrate the law of the strongest and precipitate the international order towards chaos," Barrot said, standing alongside his counterpart Andrii Sybiha. When asked if Paris supported Zelensky's victory plan, Barrot confirmed, "We support the victory plan because we have been alongside Ukraine for nearly 1,000 days."
However, in the rest of his remarks, Barrot referred more generally to a "peace plan" as the way to end the war without specifying an official position on Zelensky's detailed proposals, Agence France-Presse reported. Like other Western allies, Paris is still reviewing the plan's specifics.
After meeting with Barrot, Zelensky expressed gratitude to France, saying the support for the victory plan could "bring real diplomacy and a just peace closer." He described their meeting as "exactly what we needed" during his evening address.
The core of Zelensky's plan includes an immediate invitation for Ukraine to join NATO, a position that Barrot said Paris is "open" to discussing with other alliance members. The plan also rejects territorial concessions and urges allies to lift restrictions on using long-range weapons provided to Ukraine against military targets within Russia.
Chris York
