Macron says it's not France's place to teach Ukraine about anti-corruption

French President Emmanuel Macron has commented on the recent corruption scandal in Ukraine, which culminated in the resignation of Andrii Yermak, the now former head of the Office of the President, on Friday 28 November.

Commenting on Operation Midas, Macron said the anti-corruption bodies had done their job.

"Is it our role to give lessons to Ukraine, which has a scandal of this scale? I think that if everything is taking place within the framework of justice and the special procedures, then everything is fine," Macron said during a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Paris.

The French president emphasised that "you will not find a single anti-corruption case in Russia, and that should concern everyone".

"There are no independent anti-corruption bodies [in Russia – ed.], no independent judiciary. If all the money goes to the war and there is no one to report to, that is how that system functions. The system in Ukraine works differently. The system in France works differently. But Russia is a real dictatorship," he added.

During the press conference, Zelenskyy said the recent anti-corruption investigations in Ukraine are affecting the negotiations on the "peace deal".

He also named the three most hotly-debated issues in the discussions on the "peace plan" for Ukraine.