00:00It's Zelensky's 12th visit to Paris since Russia invaded in February 2022 and comes as talks
00:05brokered between Kyiv and Moscow by the United States have been derailed by the Middle East war.
00:12Doug, we heard Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky just then issuing a joint press
00:19conference with his French counterpart. The timing of his visit to Paris is hugely significant,
00:25isn't it? It's significant because Macron, on behalf of a lot of his European leaders,
00:28are sending a very loud and clear message that this war in the Middle East is not going to give
00:34Russia a break from its war of aggression in Ukraine. And what I mean by that is Macron was
00:41extremely, he wants to make it clear right now at a crucial time where this war is having ripple
00:47effects, reverberations well beyond the Persian Gulf region and directly having an impact, not just
00:52potential, but already an impact on the war in Ukraine and how it's being waged and the prospects
00:58ahead coming at a very, very difficult juncture as it's been for years now for Volodymyr Zelensky.
01:05So what Emmanuel Macron is essentially saying, well, first of all, he said that he finds it strange,
01:10that was the word he used, strange that Russia is calling for a ceasefire in this Middle East war
01:16when it has been, as Macron put it, obstinately has refused to accept a ceasefire in its war of
01:23aggression against Ukraine. He sees arch hypocrisy in that. They're calling for a ceasefire in one war
01:30while refusing to accept one in the war that it itself started, an unprovoked war of aggression
01:35that it is now entering the fifth year of waging against Ukraine. Lo and behold, here you have
01:39Zelensky. Now, one of the big optics here, you're saying the timing is significant, but the very fact
01:43that Zelensky's here in Paris at this moment is significant because, let's remember, the reporting in
01:48recent days out of some U.S. news outlets has been that actually Russia has been helping Iran with some
01:55of the intelligence. Russia obviously vehemently denies this, saying nothing whatsoever, disinformation
02:00from the biased Western press, but the reports have been pretty rigorous reporting indicating that
02:07there's been some form of Russian helping Iran to identify at least, to locate where U.S. military
02:14presence and warships and targets are located. How else would Iran be so precise in its targeting?
02:20So, at the very moment where you have that going on, you have Zelensky, basically in Paris,
02:26also sending its experts to the Persian Gulf region and also trying to help the Europeans with their
02:32drone expertise. That is their expertise in fighting off Russian drones. Zelensky is now very loudly
02:39and very authoritatively trying to bring it to bear in this war, saying, I am here to help you.
02:44You've all helped me a lot. Here I am to help you in your time of need. You need help
02:48fencing off
02:48these drones and missiles from Iran. We know how to do that because Russia has been sending Iranian-style
02:54Shahid drones our way for years now. This is where our expertise lies. So there's a real sense of
02:59collaboration there. Macron reiterated he will be resolute and determined as ever in his military
03:05support for Ukraine going ahead. He also, basically, Zelensky said that the U.S.
03:11warrants wavering the sanctions, the wavering the oil sanctions on Russia is not exactly going to help
03:18right now peace, bring peace to this region.
03:21Doug Herbert, thank you very much.
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