Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
A European statement issued in Brussels by the office of Antonio Costa, President of the European Council, said, "On Tuesday, we had the opportunity to hold a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing. It was organized by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and attended, as usual, by our partners from around the world—Canada, Japan, Turkey, and New Zealand—as well as our other European neighbors, such as Norway and Iceland. We were able to hold an informal meeting of the European Council and speak by phone with President Zelenskyy. I would like to begin by saying that we are all grateful for the outstanding teamwork shown by the European leaders who met with President Trump in Washington, and for the success of the meeting in achieving tangible progress in priority areas.
There are currently three very clear priorities. First, from a humanitarian perspective, ensuring that attacks stop and prevent further killings on Ukrainian territory. Second, resuming the prisoner exchange process and making progress on the return of abducted and missing children.
Another very important dimension is the preparation of security guarantees for a future peace process. In this regard, it was crucial that President Trump confirmed the United States' readiness to participate in the security measures that the Coalition of the Willing has been working on over the past few months. Lastly, we are preparing for the desired bilateral, trilateral, and quadrilateral talks, so that they can be held as soon as possible. From the European Union's perspective, we discussed concrete steps the EU can take to lend credibility to this process and support President Trump in his peace efforts.
There are three key dimensions here. First, we need to increase pressure on Russia by moving forward with the 19th package of sanctions, to ensure continued pressure on Russia to end the war and stop the killing in Ukraine. Second, we need to open the European Peace Facility to strengthen Ukraine's military capabilities.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces themselves will always be the foundation of future security guarantees. Therefore, strengthening their capabilities is a concrete way to strengthen future security measures. Finally, we are continuing to work on progress in the enlargement process, as Ukraine's future is not limited to security measures alone; it also requires ensuring the stability, development, and prosperity that EU accession will provide.
So, we are working on these dimensions, and I believe we have a lot of work ahead of us in the coming weeks. We are at a critical and difficult stage, and nothing is guaranteed, but we need to continue this work to ensure our success.