Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a "very good conversation" with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron regarding obtaining a license to manufacture French SCALP cruise missiles, Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has said.
According to an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent, Fedorov made the remarks during a briefing with his Danish counterpart on Monday.
"Yes, we can say that during our president's visit to France, there was a very good conversation with President Macron about the possibility of sharing the SCALP missile license with our country. And discussions are currently ongoing with both the government and the company regarding this matter; all the details are being worked out," the minister said.
However, the minister added that "there is indeed progress on this issue, but it is still too early to say," because it is a complex process. In particular, as Fedorov noted, this concerns intellectual property, the launch of production in general, and all the bureaucratic nuances.
Fedorov also said discussions regarding production licenses are continuing with the United States.
"As for the outcomes of the G7 summit and the declaration on the development of air defense, the granting of licenses, and so on… discussions with our American partners on this matter are currently ongoing at the National Security and Defense Council level. We cannot announce any details yet. But in general, it is unprecedented that this was announced and that such discussions have even begun," the minister said.
He added separately that "more detailed discussions" have already begun regarding the SCALP missiles.
"In other words, these are the first steps. We are proceeding cautiously and continuing to maintain these communications in order to achieve results… The devil is really in the details. That is why we are actively working on this for now," Fedorov said.
Speaking about the development of long-range weapons, he noted that at this point it is very important to support Ukrainian arms manufacturers through the Danish model or other formats, as Ukraine is counting on its own capabilities in this area.
"We understand how to scale up what is already working effectively, and at this point, we are placing our greatest hope and reliance on our own capabilities in this regard. We are working to invest every additional dollar in Ukrainian production and to scale up that production. We are relying on our own capabilities in this regard," Fedorov said.
