As the second European Political Community (EPC) summit began on Thursday, June 1, 2023 in Moldova, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated his plea for more arms and support.
The heads of state and government from 47 countries have gathered for the European Political Community summit, which includes all of the European countries except for Belarus and Russia. However, the summit’s focus was on the continent’s south and east, which has been forced to reach a turning point in its relations with Moscow following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.
The EU hopes to use the summit to strengthen the continent’s cohesion in facing Russian aggression and to engage numerous Eastern European nations that spent decades either under the Soviet Union or under its near sphere of influence.
At the summit’s opening ceremony, Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte emphasized the significance of the summit’s location, which is only about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Ukraine’s border.
“Our meeting today in Moldova speaks volumes. The country borders on Ukraine and here, the Russian threat is palpable,” Rutte said.
The poorest nation in Europe, Moldova, is surrounded on three sides by Ukraine and plans to join the EU by the end of the decade. It has long expressed support for Ukraine and taken in refugees escaping the conflict.
Zelenskyy was the first foreign leader to arrive at the location of the summit on Thurday, a castle and vineyard from the 19th century located about 35 kilometers (21 miles) from Chisinau, the country’s capital.
He addressed the assembled leaders while sporting his signature olive green shirt and cargo pants. He sought to dispel doubts about his country’s accession to the EU and NATO, and warned that such doubts would be exploited by Moscow.
Since the start of the invasion, he said, “the limits of security in Europe have in fact been the limits of our determination, our ability to act together for the sake of the interests of our peoples and the whole of Europe. As much as we can reject doubt, we can reject the evil of aggression.”
Zelenskyy urged for a continuation of Western military aid to Ukraine, saying it was saving lives and “literally accelerating peace.”
The Ukrainian President insisted that all countries that border Russia should be full members of the EU and NATO, since Moscow “tries to swallow only those who are outside of the common security space.”
“When there are no security guarantees, there are only war guarantees,” he declared.
Scholz, Macron, Michel To Meet Leaders Of Armenia And Azerbaijan
Other summit participants include German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Scholz and Macron will join European Council President, Charles Michel for one of the summit’s major meetings; discussions with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, two former Soviet Caucasian neighbor nations that have fought wars over a contested territory.
That territory, Nagorno-Karabakh, was the site of a conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2020 that killed more than 6,000 people. The war ended in a Russia-brokered armistice under which Armenia relinquished territories surrounding the region.
Although Nagorno-Karabakh is located in Azerbaijan, ethnic Armenian forces supported by Armenia have been in control of the area and its surroundings since 1994.
Recent negotiations between the two countries about the land have given rise to optimism that the Moldova summit could result in a breakthrough.
