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Achieving a lasting and sustainable peace in Ukraine requires reliable security guarantees that will prevent a repeat of Russian aggression. This was stated by a senior EU official on the eve of a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels.
“Any peace agreement will require security guarantees. We should consider the possible involvement of the EU in providing these guarantees. The first key element is to increase support for the Ukrainian Armed Forces so that they can defend themselves in the event of new aggression from Russia. There are already some commitments by member states in this regard, and they will be reflected in the conclusions of the summit. The second aspect is the potential deployment of EU missions directly to Ukraine,” the source said.
EU considers new ways to support
According to an EU official, the summit will hold a preliminary discussion of these issues to assess the prospects and possibilities of peacekeeping efforts after an agreement is reached.
“At the moment, we don’t have a peace agreement, there are no ceasefire talks. But we have to take into account that the international context has changed, especially with the US position. European countries and partners outside the EU have already confirmed their readiness to join security initiatives,” he added.
Will Zelenskyy attend the EU summit?
The official representative also confirmed that President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy was invited to the meeting, but the format of his participation is still undetermined.
“We have invited President Zelenskyy and still hope that he will come in person. At the same time, it is possible that his participation will take place in the format of a teleconference,” the source said.
Following the summit on 7 March, the President of the European Council, together with the President of the European Commission and the EU High Representative, plan to hold a teleconference with partners including the UK, Norway, Iceland and Turkey to coordinate further action.
On 6 March, a special meeting of the European Council will be held in Brussels, where EU heads of state and government will consider strengthening European defence and increasing assistance to Ukraine, particularly against the backdrop of reduced US military support.
