European allies, undertake « for Ukraine

The European Foreign Ministers reiterated their ‘unwavering support for Ukraine’ during a conference hosted on Thursday, in Rome, by the head of Italian diplomacy, Antonio Tajani, reports the DPA.

The Foreign Ministers of Germany, France and Poland, along with the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Andrii Sîbiga, the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, and the head of the EU foreign policy, Kaja Kallas, participated in the meeting.

The meeting took place less than a month before the fourth conference on the recovery of Ukraine, scheduled for July 10-11, in which about 2,000 representatives of the political, business and international organizations intend to discuss the long-term perspectives of Ukraine.

In a common statement, the ministers have stated their commitment to ‘the people, democracy, security, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders’.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadeph, assured his Ukrainian counterpart: ‘Our support for Ukraine remains solid as rock: political, economic and military.’

Asked by a journalist when planning his first conversation with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the German minister said that he currently sees no reason or opportunity for such a movement.

Wadeph, which has taken over its position on May 6, said that Germany will always coordinate such steps with its European partners.

Singing that Berlin is always « always open to negotiations » in this format, Wadeph has also stated that it should be « recognized that Russia is not ready to negotiate, but seeks war. »

As long as this is the case, « we are firmly with Ukraine, » said German Foreign Minister.

Wadeph’s comments come in the context of a debate in Germany, triggered by members of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) – a minor partner in the government – who have requested direct diplomatic calls with Russia.

Both SPD management and Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who, like Wadeph, belong to the Conservative block, have rejected these calls, emphasizing that the recent intense attacks on Ukraine have shown that Russia is by far not prepared to negotiate.