EU Foreign Ministers Convene in Ukraine for Historic Meeting
An informal meeting of foreign ministers from EU member states is taking place in the capital of Ukraine, which usually occurs in Brussels. The High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, arrived in Kyiv after visiting Odesa. He noted that one of the topics on the ministers' meeting agenda would be future security commitments to Ukraine in the context of Russia's aggression against it.
"Today, I am gathering the EU foreign ministers in Kyiv, marking the first-ever meeting of all 27 member states outside the EU. This is because Ukraine's future lies in the European Union," Borrell stated on the morning of October 2.
The intentions to hold the upcoming meeting of European foreign ministers in Kyiv were known in advance.
The following countries are represented at the level of foreign ministers: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Cyprus, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, France, Finland, Croatia, the Czech Republic, and Sweden.
Poland will be represented by Deputy Minister Wojciech Gerwel, Latvia by State Secretary Andris Pelšs, and Hungary by Deputy State Secretary Zsolt Bunkó.
"This is a historic event because, for the first time in the history of the EU's Council of Foreign Ministers, it is convening outside the borders of the European Union but within the future borders of the EU. This, in itself, is a signal of the support that the European Union is providing to Ukraine. We are very grateful for this," said Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, during a joint briefing with the EU's High Representative, Josep Borrell, ahead of the Council of Ministers meeting.
"Ukraine is becoming a member of the European Union, and this process is unfolding precisely when we are having these meetings," Kuleba added, emphasizing that he expects to "open accession negotiations by the end of the year."
Recall that recently, Ukraine hosted an international defence industry forum, which brought together defence ministers from European countries and representatives of 252 companies producing a full range of weaponry, military equipment, and defence systems from over 30 countries. NATO Secretary-General also attended the forum. As part of the forum, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the establishment of an Alliance of Defence Industry, which initially united 18 representatives of the defence industry from around the world.