Unprecedented: EU Foreign Ministers Meet In Ukraine
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First-ever meeting outside the EU borders shows solidarity with Kiev.
Hard on the heels of an election in Slovakia that put a pro-Russian Premier in place, foreign ministers of all 27 European Union member states held a meeting in Ukraine to display their support for Kiev.
According to Al Jazeera, It was the first-ever meeting outside the EU’s bloc’s borders.
The unannounced meeting takes place as amid Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which is in its 20th month.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell explained that “I am convening today the EU Foreign Ministers in Kyiv, for the first-ever meeting of all 27 Member States outside the EU…Ukraine’s future lies within the EU.”
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated that “I am sure that Ukraine and the entire free world are capable of winning this confrontation. But our victory depends directly on our cooperation with you.”
The Ukrainian government is pushing to join the EU in the future; the region has been interacting with Europe since the traders of ancient Greece landed on its shores.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that the meeting is being held “within future borders” of the EU.
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said the meeting was a signal to Moscow of the bloc’s determination to support Ukraine over the long term: “It is a demonstration of our resolute and lasting support for Ukraine, until it can win. It is also a message to Russia that it should not count on our weariness. We will be there for a long time to come.”
The EU member states are now providing the largest proportion of aid to Ukraine, having overtaken America earlier in the year.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called for efforts to prepare Ukraine for the coming winter, including through air defence and guaranteed energy supplies: “Last winter, we saw the brutal way in which the Russian president is waging this war. We must prevent this together with everything we have, as far as…
