BUCHAREST: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived on Thursday in Romania, where he was to visit an F-16 fighter jet training centre and meet Romania’s leader, before visiting France later this week.

The visits come at a time of uncertainty over planned peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow that have been spearheaded by the United States and derailed by the US-Israeli war with Iran.

“The president has arrived in Bucharest.

“In Romania, he will meet with President Nicusor Dan (and) Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, and visit the F-16 pilot training centre,” Zelensky’s spokesman Sergiy Nykyforov told journalists, including AFP.

NATO member Romania — an important ally of Kyiv’s — has seen repeated violations of its airspace, including drone fragments falling onto its soil, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.