France’s Macron engineers new diplomatic push for Ukraine

By SYLVIE CORBET
Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron is hosting Tuesday in Paris an international conference meant to help Ukraine make it through winter. In the longer term, he insists talks with Russia will be needed to find a path to peace. The Paris conference is meant to provide Kyiv with some immediate aid, both in financing and equipment. Macron said it comes in response to Russian war operations in recent weeks focusing on civilian  infrastcture. Since the beginning of the war, the French president has championed tougher sanctions against Moscow and has maintained near-constant contact with Ukraine’s president. Yet he has also been criticized by Ukraine and some other European countries who feel he has not kept sufficient distance from the Kremlin.