Macron delays Kyiv visit amid tensions over Ukraine comments

French President Emmanuel Macron has pushed back a long-planned visit to Ukraine amid tensions with allies over his increasingly hawkish comments on Russia.

The visit has been delayed several times and was initially planned for February, before being pushed back to mid-March. On Sunday, a statement from the French Presidential Palace said the visit would take place "in the next few weeks."

The Elysée Palace rejected suggestions that security concerns played a role in the postponement, after a Russian missile hit near Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during a visit to Ukraine last week. "There are no worries in terms of security," an aide to the president said Monday.

• French President Emmanuel Macron is pushing back a long-planned visit to Ukraine amid disagreements with allies over policy toward Russia, Politico reported, citing a French diplomat.

The delay comes as Macron’s comments on Russia have become increasingly hawkish, the report said. The French president wants to "take the necessary time" to talk with allies, so that he can visit Ukraine "with tangible results," according to Politico.

"A bit of time is needed to [conclude] the different coalitions and their operational commitments with our partners," the diplomat said.

The La Tribune newspaper earlier cited a source in the French presidential administration as saying that the Elysee Palace could again postpone Macron's visit to Ukraine, which had already been moved from February to mid-March. According to the newspaper, this is related to the explosions that went off near the port of Odessa as the Greek prime minister was visiting the city.