The European Union Foreign Ministers held their formal meeting in Luxembourg Monday with the focus on recent developments in Russia concerning the insurrection of the Wagner group.
“The situation remains complex and unpredictable. We remain vigilant and committed to strong coordination with our partners, the 27 member states and the neighbour countries,” EU High Representative Josep Borrell told a concluding press conference this evening.
“These events have shown that the Russian State and Putin’s personal credibility are weakened. The political system is showing cracks,” he said.
He added that now the risk comes from the internal political instability and fragilities of this major nuclear power.
According to an EU statement released after the meeting, Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, addressed EU ministers via video conference, and briefed them about the latest developments on the ground and Ukraine’s military priorities and needs, both on the short and long term.
EU ministers reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to supporting Ukraine during the counteroffensive as far as both equipment and training are concerned.
Borrell informed the ministers that the EU Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine had already trained 24,000 Ukrainian soldiers, allowing the EU to reach the 30,000 target well before the end of 2023.
The ministers discussed the global outreach efforts put in place by the EU to facilitate the plans for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace for Ukraine, in line with the principles of the UN Charter.
The Foreign Affairs Council held a discussion on reinforcing the EU’s partnership with Latin America and the Caribbean, ahead of their upcoming Summit in Brussels on 17-18 July.
In particular, ministers exchanged views on the “New agenda for relations between the EU and Latin America and the Caribbean”.
The Council had an exchange on the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue. The High Representative debriefed EU ministers on the meetings he held with Serbian President Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Kurti on 22 June in Brussels to find solutions to the ongoing crisis.
The ministers underlined their strong concern about the continuing tensions in the north of Kosovo and stressed the importance for the parties to immediately de-escalate.
They welcomed the release of the three Kosovo policemen who had been held in Belgrade.
The Council exchanged views on Tunisia against the background of the recent visit of the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the Italian and Dutch Prime Ministers.
Ministers were in agreement that the EU will continue to help address the difficult social and economic and situation that the country is facing.
In order to ensure the stability of Tunisia, the EU offered a comprehensive package of cooperation that will now need to be approved by the Council.
Lastly, the High Representative referred to the ongoing work of the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, towards the normalisation of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Source: Kuwait News Agency