Brussels, March 21, (dpa/GNA) – EU foreign and defence ministers, are to discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with a focus on emergency aid, military cooperation, and more sanctions in a meeting in Brussels on Monday.
A decision on further sanctions “is going to dominate and it’s not going to be easy,” an EU diplomat said ahead of the meeting, with the divisive question of a ban on Russian energy imports still unresolved.
The meeting comes ahead of an intensive week of talks between Western allies over Ukraine, an EU summit, a NATO summit and G7 talks are all planned for later in the week.
Meanwhile, the fighting has shown no sign of abating, three and a half weeks after the start of Russia’s invasion.
Poland and the Baltics are pushing for tougher sanctions, including an EU ban on Russian oil and gas imports. Germany, which is heavily dependent on Russian gas, and some other EU member states are however resisting.
Warsaw also wants more emphasis on NATO in a common defence strategy to be discussed on Monday, in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, EU diplomats told dpa.
The policy proposal, in development long before the war in Ukraine, aims to enhance military cooperation in the bloc, with plans for joint forces to respond quickly to the outbreak of crises.
Ukraine’s Defence Minister, Oleksiy Reznikov, is to brief the EU ministers on the current situation in the conflict. Moldova’s deputy prime minister and Foreign Minister, Nicu Popescu, is also to attend.
GNA