France ready to assist Ukraine with military equipment, says Ukraine Foreign Minister

Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Saturday said that France has agreed to supply military equipment to Keiv as well as ban Russia from SWIFT international banking system.

Kuleba held a telephonic conversation with French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian and urged the EU to immediately introduce the third package of sanctions on Russia.

Taking to Twitter Kuleba said, "Call with my French counterpart @JY_LeDrian. France supports banning Russia from SWIFT. I urged to immediately introduce the third package of EU sanctions to stop Russian invasion. France is also ready to supply weapons and military equipment to help Ukraine defend itself."

Amid the growing tensions between Moscow and Kiev, Kuleba, on Friday, also spoke with his German, Belgian and Italian counterparts.

Earlier, Kuleba spoke with the Foreign Minister of Bahrain Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani to brief him about the latest developments of the Russian aggression against Ukraine.

Notably, in the early hours on Thursday, Russia launched a special operation after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk requested assistance to defend themselves from ongoing attacks by the Ukrainian troops. The Western countries have strongly condemned the Russian military operation and boosted the sanctions pressure on Moscow.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday discussed the sanctions, defence assistance and an "anti-war coalition" with US President Joe Biden.

"Strengthening sanctions, concrete defence assistance and an anti-war coalition have just been discussed with @POTUS. Grateful for the strong support to Ukraine," Zelenskyy tweeted.

Furthermore, Biden on Friday said that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will maintain its "open door" to those European states who share its values and who one day may seek to join our Alliance.

( With inputs from ANI )

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