Biden and Zelensky to meet in Paris amid Normandy anniversary

President of the USA, Joe Biden, will meet with President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, during his visit to France, as confirmed on Tuesday by US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.

Sullivan announced the meeting between the Presidents of the USA and Ukraine during a briefing on board the presidential plane, Air Force One, en route to Paris. Zelensky and Biden will participate on Thursday in ceremonies commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy. Sullivan did not disclose the exact timing or location of the meeting.

However, he said that the USA is focused on providing Ukraine with weapons, particularly components of the air defence system. He simultaneously ruled out sending military instructors to Ukraine.

Biden's advisor assessed that although Ukraine found itself in a difficult situation due to a several-month halt in American arms deliveries, it is now recovering thanks to the resumption of deliveries and has strengthened its positions around Kharkiv and Donbas.

Speaking about planned talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, Sullivan stated that the USA would try to push hard on the issue of using frozen Russian assets in Europe to help Ukraine. This is also expected to be the main topic of discussion at the upcoming G7 leaders' summit in Apulia, Italy.

Sullivan also referred to Israel's proposal for a ceasefire and a potential permanent end to fighting in Gaza. He stated that despite conflicting signals on this topic from various Israeli politicians, what matters is that the Israeli authorities made a formal, written proposal. He added that Washington is still awaiting a formal response from Hamas on this matter, and CIA Director Bill Burns has been sent to Qatar, which mediates contacts with Hamas.