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15 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelenski, has held a conversation of almost an hour and a half with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, with whom he has discussed his recent visit to China.
“The results of President Macron’s recent visit to China have been discussed,” Zelenski explained in a statement published on his Telegram channel in which he did not give further details on whether the Chinese peace proposal for Ukraine was specifically addressed. He does stress instead that “special attention” was paid to “the implementation of the Ukrainian peace plan.”
In addition, Zelensky has transferred his thanks to Macron for condemning the recent execution of a Ukrainian soldier by “Russian war criminals”. “I have explained the situation at the front and our intention to liberate all our territories,” he stressed. He has also valued “France’s intention to further strengthen its support for Ukraine on the battlefield.”
Lastly, they discussed the preparations for the next NATO summit, scheduled for July in Vilnius. “In particular regarding the need for Ukraine to have effective security guarantees even before our country joins the alliance,” he explained.
SANCTIONS AGAINST 438 INDIVIDUALS
On the other hand, Zelensky has published two decrees that impose economic sanctions on 438 individuals –351 of them Russians– and 254 entities. On the list is Ksenia Shoigu, daughter of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who holds the position of president of the Russian Triathlon Federation.
They are also the Belarusian Minister of Sports and Tourism, Serhii Kovalchuk, the former Ukrainian deputy Viacheslav Boguslaev or the former director of the Ukrainian Ministry of Interior for the Cherkasi region, Volodimir Lipandin.
Russian media have highlighted that more than 80 athletes and positions from Russian sports organizations such as the skater Ilia Averbuj or the international soccer goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev are on the list.
Regarding the list of 254 entities, there are the Yandex software development company, the VK social network, the Rambler portal and various subsidiaries of the Russian state hydrocarbons company Gazprom.
