THE the European Union Foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels on Monday and Tuesday to discuss the bloc’s foreign policy.
Negotiations in the Belgian capital are expected to last two days, with Russia’s war in Ukraine should be one of the main topics on the agenda.
A key point of the negotiations is the EU’s commitment to providing Ukraine with 1 million artillery shells.
The ministers will be joined by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who will address the meeting via video link.
Borrell welcomes US decision regarding F-16s in Ukraine
EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said the US decision to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets was a “good sign” that Western allies would supply Kiev with the fighter jets it needs. she needs to fight Russian forces.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis also welcomed the US decision as a “very important step forward”.
In statements at the EU foreign ministers meeting, Borrell called on the European Union to end sanctions evasion against Russia. Countries outside the EU have reportedly escaped sanctions, including Kazakhstan, Armenia and the United Arab Emirates.
What else is on the agenda?
Diplomats also adopted new sanctions against members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards over the regime’s crackdown on anti-government protests. The European Council said on Twitter that five individuals and two entities were the latest targets of the EU’s eighth sanctions package. Their names were added for “human rights violations.”
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said before the meeting that the bloc “would not accept” Iran. human rights violations.
It will also be a question of Western Balkans, which includes six candidate countries for EU membership. The leaders of Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Kosovo are expected to meet EU foreign ministers in the hope of moving forward negotiations on membership.
Foreign ministers are also expected to address unrest in Sudan and the situation in the Horn of Africa, which was hit by a severe drought after several failed rainy seasons.
rmt, zc, sdi/kb (Reuters, dpa)
