Monitoring Desk
KYIV: Ukraine and the European Union (EU) will hold a joint summit in Kyiv on February 3 to discuss military and financial support, President Volodymyr Zelensky‘s office said, but the bloc Tuesday would not confirm the location.
Zelensky discussed the high-level meeting with Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission President, in his first telephonic conversation of the year, the office said in a statement Monday.
“The two parties discussed expected results of the upcoming Ukraine-European Union summit to be held on February 3 in Kyiv and agreed to sped-up preparatory work,” it said.
European Union yet to confirm the summit
However, a spokesperson for European Council President Charles Michel could not confirm on Tuesday that the joint summit would take place in the Ukrainian capital.
He said the bloc would be represented at the summit by Michel and von der Leyen and not with the various leaders of EU countries.
EU officials said there was a standing invitation for Zelensky to visit Brussels.
Zelensky and von der Leyen, in their call, also talked about the supply of “appropriate” weapons.
And they discussed a new 18 billion euro ($19 billion) financial aid program to Ukraine, with the Ukrainian leader pushing for the first tranche to be sent this month, the statement said.
Last month, the European Union cleared the way to give Ukraine aid in a so-called “megadeal” that included adopting a minimum 15 percent global corporate tax rate.
The move followed an impassioned request from Zelensky not to let internal disputes within the 27-countries bloc stand in the way of backing Ukraine.
