Fifty European leaders met Thursday at a summit in Moldova with Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky a show of diplomatic force before Vladimir Putin, in this country bordering Ukraine living in fear of Russia.
The participants in the meeting are only a few 20km from Ukraineto send a message of support to these two former Soviet republics.
Since the beginning of May, Russia has stepped up its drone strikes on Kiev. A new bombing this Thursday against the Ukrainian capital killed at least three people, among them a child. Ukraine accuses Moscow of wanting to “terrorize” the civilian population, even as Moscow claims it is attacking military targets.
In the Belgorod region of Russia, on the border with Ukraine, there were “uninterrupted shelling” this Thursday, which left eight injured. Russia announced the day before the evacuation of hundreds of minors, due to the intensification of the attacks.
“I’m happy to be here,” Zelenski said on camera in Moldova, before thanking the Moldovan people “for hthey took in many refugees from the first day of the war”.
The meeting will be held at Mimi Castle, a wine estate in the town of Bulboaca, 35 km from the capital Chisinau.
A huge forum of countries
The forum of the so-called European Political Community (EPC) it is much bigger than the European Union (EU), as it comprises the 27 members of the blocplus twenty invited countries.
“We will reaffirm our support for Ukraine, which is resisting Russian aggression,” underlined Moldovan President Maia Sandu.
As in the first edition in Prague, in October, the meeting will give life to a very symbolic family photo which will however have an absence of weight: the Turkish president Recep Tayyp Erdoganre-elected on Sunday.
The chosen place it’s not random, given that the meeting takes place a few kilometers from Transnistria, the pro-Russian separatist region of Moldavia.
“Putin’s Russia has excluded itself from this community by launching this war against Ukraine,” said the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell.
“I hope that the presence of so many leaders here, so close to Ukraine, sends a strong message about the unity of many states, not just the European Union, in defend international order“, He added.
The CPE is an informal instance Designed by French President Emmanuel Macron, and which brings together countries with very different profiles, such as Armenia, Georgia, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, Serbia and Azerbaijan.
Moldova’s hosts will show their desire to join the EU.
“Moldova’s place is in the European Union,” said Maia Sandu on Wednesday, who received an encouraging message from the head of the European Commission. Ursula von der Leyenwhich recognized the “tremendous progress” of this former Soviet republic in the necessary reforms for accession.
The question of accession also arises for Ukraine itself. kyiv was granted official candidate status at the same time as Moldova, in June 2022. Ma there is still a long way to go.
NATO summit
The leaders will also speak about Ukraine’s security, while supporting the foreign ministers of NATO member countries another meeting in oslo to respond to Kiev’s request to join the Atlantic Alliance, which seems impossible to achieve, although the Atlantic Alliance is considering guaranteeing Ukrainian security for as long as necessary until the country can do so on its own means.
For the Ukrainian president, there are “doubts” about welcoming Ukraine and Moldova into the military alliance endanger Europe.
“Every doubt we express is a side that Russia will try to occupy,” he said.
“All European countries that have a border with Russia and don’t want Russia to take away part of their territory they must be full members of NATO and the EU“, the president reiterated.
The appointment in Moldova could help defuse tension in northern Kosovo, where violent incidents erupted this weekend between Serbian police and protesters, resulting in the wounding of 30 soldiers of the NATO force.
Serbs boycotted April municipal elections in four cities, leading to election of Kosovar Albanian mayors with a share of less than 3.5%.
His inauguration last week inflamed the situation in Kosovo, which unilaterally proclaimed its independence from Serbia in 2008 and whose secession has not been recognized by Belgrade.
Also scheduled is a meeting of the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, in full negotiations to end their conflict. The two neighboring countries have been fighting for three decades for control of the Caucasian region of Nagorno-Karabakh, located in Azerbaijan and inhabited mostly by Armenians.
AFP extension
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.