France urges partners to invite Ukraine to NATO now — Le Parisien

France sees its priority task in agreeing on an official invitation of Ukraine to NATO right now. At the same time in Paris is aware that the process of joining the alliance can be quite long.

This was stated to Le Parisien by the Minister-Delegate for European Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Fifth Republic Benjamin Addad.

"The invitation is the first stage, a political signal, we could do it now. We are trying to convince our partners, even taking into account the fact that the accession process is long and demanding," he said.

The politician stressed that France wants to play the role of Ukraine's "guide" on the way to the EU and NATO. The Minister-delegate is confident that this will ensure the security of Europe.

Earlier, EADaily reported that France is preparing for an arms race with Russia, increasing the military budget. This was stated by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrault in an interview with LCI TV channel.