EU meets with sanctions agenda against Ukraine and Russia

The foreign ministers of the countries that make up the European Union (EU) met with a broad agenda from Ukraine to Africa, from the Western Balkans to Iran.

On the agenda of the EU Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Brussels are issues such as continued support for Ukraine, which is at war with Russia, and the 11th package of sanctions to be applied to Russia. The ministers will discuss how to maintain financial, military and political support for Ukraine and how to ensure that other countries comply with EU sanctions against Russia. No result is expected from the meeting of ministers that will deal with the 11th package of sanctions.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba is scheduled to attend the meeting via video conference. It is claimed that the EU High Representative for Foreign Relations and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, will propose to increase the “European Peace Fund”, which provides aid to Ukraine.

The presence of some European companies on the list of “Russian war supporters” created by Ukraine will also be discussed at the meeting.

It was claimed that Hungary prevented military aid to Ukraine and that the reason for this was the presence of a Hungarian bank on Ukraine’s list. EU ministers will meet at a dinner with foreign ministers from 6 Western Balkan countries. At the meeting, where Russia’s influence in the region will be evaluated, issues such as the Belgrade-Kosovo Dialogue and the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina will also be on the agenda.

At the meeting, where the EU is expected to agree to new sanctions against Iran under the human rights sanctions regime, topics such as improving relations with Central Asian countries and the latest situation in Tunisia will be discussed.

DEFENSE MINISTERS WILL ALSO MEET

After the EU Foreign Ministers Meeting, the EU Defense Ministers Meeting will take place. At the meeting to be held tomorrow, military aid to Ukraine will be the basis of the agenda.

With the way paved for the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine at the G7 meeting in Japan, it is planned to train Ukrainian pilots to fly these planes.
The defense ministers of the EU countries will also discuss the issue of speeding up the arms and ammunition support requested by Ukraine.

The training of Ukrainian soldiers will also be on the agenda. EU officials claim that the training of 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers has been completed so far and they plan to increase this to 20,000.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is expected to attend part of the EU Defense Ministers Meeting. (AA)