Europe's major military powers reaffirm support for Ukraine
Europe's major military powers reaffirm support for Ukraine
Defence Ministers from Europe's top five military powers, France, Germany, Britain, Italy and Poland, met in Paris and voiced support for the Ukrainian army
PARIS — Defence Ministers from Europe's top five military powers, France,
Germany, Britain, Italy and Poland, met in Paris and voiced support for the
Ukrainian army.
In a joint declaration published after the meeting, the
ministers agreed to strengthen European support for peace in Ukraine, including
accelerating defence industrial cooperation projects with Ukraine, Xinhua news
agency reported.
Speaking at a joint press conference, French defence
minister Sebastien Lecornu told reporters that the defence capacity of the
Ukrainian army would be "one of the first security guarantees" for
Kyiv.
According to Lecornu, "the true guarantee of
long-term security will be the capacities that we can provide to the Ukrainian
army."
Italian defence minister Guido Crosetto said that there
would be no future for Ukraine "without the ability to defend
itself."
The ministers also agreed to consolidate their common
approach to European defense within the frameworks of the European Union (EU)
and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
They said in the joint declaration that they would
maintain a "strong" transatlantic bond while significantly increasing
Europe's contribution to the continent's deterrence and defence.
When asked if the ministers discussed how to develop an
independent European defence system in case of the US withdrawal, German
defence minister Boris Pistorius said that it was a topic that has already
"preoccupied" Europe for a while.
He proposed that Europe should work on administrative
simplifications both at national and European levels to standardise weapon
systems in different European countries. For him, European countries need to
work together on European security.
Ukraine agreed on Tuesday to a US proposal for an
"immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire" following talks with a US
delegation in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, according to a joint statement.
The talks, notably held without European participation,
resulted in the statement that Ukraine would receive renewed US security assistance
and America got preliminary approval for access to Ukraine's mineral resources.
Despite being left out of negotiations, European leaders
welcomed the progress made between the US and Ukraine while continuing efforts
to strengthen the continent's defense capabilities.
