&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Ukraine to get 100 Rafale fighter jets from France to use in war with Russia. Details of Macron-Zelensky deal inside")
French President Emmanuel Macron and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky signed a letter of intent on Monday (Nov 17) under which Kyiv will get up to 100 Rafale fighter jets and other air defence hardware from French companies.
The letter of intent, which is not a purchase and sales contract, is projected to be realised "over a timeframe of about 10 years", the French presidency said, AFP reported.
The signed deal also lays out an agreement for the new generation SAMP-T air defence systems, which are under development, radar systems, and drones.
"A great day," Macron wrote in a brief post on X in French and Ukrainian over a picture of the deal being signed.
A French official, while talking to AFP anonymously, said that the deal would "enable it (Kyiv) to acquire the systems it needs to respond to Russian aggression". This visit of Zelensky's ninth visit since Russia launched a full-scale invasion in Ukraine in February 2022.
‘Ball is in the Ukrainian court’
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The deal comes days after Russia's Foreign Ministry said that the country is ready to resume the peace deal negotiation with Ukraine in Türkiye. The statement came via the Russian state news agency TASS as the war between the two nations is about to reach its fourth year. The last time delegations of both countries met for the discussion was in July this year. The talks lasted only 40 minutes and ended without any result.
TASS quoted Alexei Polishchuk, director of the ministry’s second department for CIS countries, as saying that Turkish officials had “repeatedly urged" both Moscow and Kyiv to restart dialogue.
“The Russian team is ready for this — the ball is in the Ukrainian court," Alexei Polishchuk said. During the July talks, Ukraine proposed an August summit between its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Türkiye. Moscow said Putin will only meet Zelensky on Russian soil. Kyiv refused the demand.
