European leaders will support Zelenskiy at the Spain summit

GRANADA, Spain, Oct 5 (Reuters) – European leaders will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday to assure him of their long-term support after U.S. President Joe Biden expressed fears that Republican infighting in Congress could harm American aid to kyiv.

Zelenskiy arrived in the Spanish city of Granada to attend a summit of the European Political Community, a forum established last year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to foster cooperation between more than 40 countries, from Norway to Albania.

“Ukraine’s top priority, especially as winter approaches, is to strengthen air defenses. We have already laid the foundation for new agreements with partners and look forward to their approval and implementation,” Zelenskiy said on social media.

“We will pay special attention to the Black Sea region, as well as our joint efforts to strengthen global food security and freedom of navigation.”

Russia withdrew in July from a deal that had allowed Ukraine – a major global grain exporter – to safely ship food products across the Black Sea.

Russia so far rejected UN proposals to revive the deal, while Ukraine continues some exports through what it calls a temporary “humanitarian corridor” for cargo ships.

Ukraine’s efforts to export grain overland through EU countries have caused a rift with Poland and some other eastern members of the bloc who are keen to protect their own farmers. kyiv and Brussels are also discussing the expansion of alternative sea routes.

The Grenada meeting gives leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak a chance to reaffirm their commitment to Ukraine after political turmoil in both the United States and Europe raised questions about continuity of support.

In the United States, a dispute between the Republican majority in the House of Representatives has complicated budget negotiations and has led Democrat Biden to go from confident that a deal on aid to Ukraine will be reached to openly expressing his concern.

“I’m concerned,” Biden said Wednesday, before adding, “But I know there are a majority of members of the House and Senate from both parties who have said they support funding Ukraine.”

In Slovakia, former Prime Minister Robert Fico’s party won first place in parliamentary elections last weekend after promising to suspend military aid to Ukraine.

In Poland, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said last month that his country was no longer arming Ukraine and was focusing on rebuilding its own weapons stockpiles.

Some Ukrainian, EU and NATO officials have downplayed these developments, saying that support for kyiv will ultimately remain stable because it is in the West’s own interests.

Scholz said Wednesday he was “very confident” that U.S. support for Ukraine would continue.

CRISIS

Meetings on the sidelines of the Granada meeting will focus on crises between Azerbaijan and Armenia and between Serbia and Kosovothat have erupted in recent weeks amid the failures of EU mediation efforts.

EU officials had to abandon hopes of using the summit to host a first meeting between the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia since Baku’s military operation last month to regain control of the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, which triggered an exodus. of more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians.

Those hopes were dashed when Azerbaijan’s state APA news agency reported Wednesday that President Ilham Aliyev decided not to attend. Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of ethnic cleansing, which Baku denies.

Many EU leaders have condemned the Azerbaijani operation.

Others, aware that Baku increased gas supplies to the EU during last year’s energy crisis, have stressed the need to focus on helping Armenia cope with the immediate humanitarian crisis and providing political and economic support.

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