PARIS, Dec 7 — Britain’s Prince William and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have joined a growing VIP guest list for the reopening of Notre Dame cathedral today, with the latter expected to seek talks with US president-elect Donald Trump over Kyiv’s faltering war effort.
Trump’s decision to attend the celebrations in Paris to mark the renaissance of fire-damaged Notre Dame had led to speculation that Zelensky would also travel for his first face-to-face meeting with the incoming US leader since his re-election.
Trump has vowed to force a peace agreement to end the war in Ukraine, boasting during campaigning that he could do so in “one day”, with US weapon supplies crucial to Kyiv’s battle against invading Russian troops.
A source in the Ukrainian government told AFP that Zelensky would meet host Macron, a staunch supporter of Ukraine’s fight, but “other meetings are also possible, in particular with president-elect Donald Trump”.
Trump’s attendance has turned the Notre Dame event into a major diplomatic gathering.
Around 40 heads of state of government are expected, many of whom will be hoping to build relations with the mercurial Republican before his January 20 inauguration.
Zelensky’s government has been pleading for new weaponry from the outgoing US administration of President Joe Biden as its forces buckle across the eastern front in the face of a grinding pre-winter offensive from Russia.
Moscow said Friday its forces had captured a village near the embattled supply hub of Pokrovsk and another near the industrial town of Kurakhove, gaining further ground in two key areas of the east Ukraine frontline.
Analysts say the next few months will be crucial as both sides jostle for battlefield momentum ahead of what are expected to be peace negotiations imposed by Trump.
Fears in Ukraine about major territorial concessions increased after the US leader named Keith Kellogg, a retired general and critic of US military aid, as his Ukraine envoy last month.
Biden’s administration announced an additional US$725 million military package for the country on Monday.
Revival
As well as German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen, Britain’s Prince William confirmed Friday that he would add some royal stardust to Saturday’s religious service and public celebrations at Notre Dame.
He would attend “at the request of His Majesty’s Government on behalf of the United Kingdom” but would travel without his wife, Catherine, who is recovering from cancer.
Saturday’s proceedings are set to begin at 7.00pm (1.00am tomorrow Malaysian time), with Macron due to deliver a speech.
Initially, he was to speak from a tented area in front of the cathedral, showing off the restoration work to rebuild its roof and spire, destroyed by a 2019 fire.
However, officials decided Friday to hold the full ceremony inside the cathedral after weather forecasters predicted strong winds of up to 80 kilometres per hour, with Storm Darragh putting parts of France on red alert.
A concert originally set to be played live in front of the cathedral was meanwhile pre-recorded on Friday night.
After Macron’s speech, Paris archbishop Laurent Ulrich will lead the first full service inside Notre Dame, symbolically reviving its refurbished 8,000-pipe organ and leading prayers and hymns under the new vaulted wooden roof of the 850-year-old Gothic monument.
The evening will wrap up with a televised broadcast of the star-studded concert, featuring music by Chinese pianist Lang Lang, South African opera singer Pretty Yende and possibly US singer and fashion designer Pharrell Williams who is widely rumoured to perform.
On Sunday, the first mass with 170 bishops and more than 100 Paris priests will take place at 10.30 am, followed by a second service in the evening at 6.30pm which will be open to the public and be attended by Macron.
Around 2,500 tickets for the public mass were reserved within a few hours when they were made available on Tuesday via the cathedral’s phone app. — AFP
