The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andriy Sybiga took part in the meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels with the participation of ministers of the EU member states.
Andriy Sybiga informed his colleagues about the development of the situation on the battlefield, gave examples of changing dynamics in favor of Ukraine and emphasized that Ukraine is holding its positions and, thanks to a strategic campaign of long-range strikes, is returning the war to where it came from - to Russian territory.
Addressing partners, Andriy Sybiga outlined three key areas. The first is that it is time to strengthen the role of Europe in peace efforts. To do this, Europe must speak with one voice. Not instead of the United States track, which remains mainstream, but as a complement to it.
The Minister called for increased pressure on Russia, in particular, to introduce an entry ban for Russian combatants, to strengthen sanctions against the energy sector and the shadow grain fleet. He stressed the importance of responsibility, in particular, the Special Tribunal, the International Compensation Commission, the isolation of Russia, and the full use of frozen Russian assets.
The Foreign Minister emphasized that the second priority is European security in the new geopolitical context. Only Ukraine has an effective multi-level defense system against massive drone attacks. The Ukrainian side is ready to scale this experience and conclude a Drone Deal with the EU.
The third key priority, which the Foreign Minister named: advancing towards the accession of Ukraine, Moldova, and the Western Balkan countries to the EU and the earliest possible opening of clusters of the negotiation process for our state.
Andriy Sybiga stressed that Ukraine's membership will strengthen the European Union not only in the field of defense and resilience, but also in the economy, energy security, renewable energy, digitalization, logistics and many other areas. He recalled Ukraine's desire to open the first negotiation cluster on May 26, and five others by the end of the Cyprus presidency of the EU, as well as Ukraine's desire to sign an EU accession agreement in 2027.
The Minister emphasized that Ukraine has already completed a significant part of the necessary steps and will continue to implement reforms in the areas of justice and the fight against corruption, as well as the implementation of EU norms in labor legislation, education, science, energy, agriculture and many other areas.
* According to information from the website https://mfa.gov.ua/news/andrij-sibiga-na-zasidanni-radi-yes-u-zakordonnih-spravah-zaproponuvav-posiliti-rol-yevropi-u-mirnih-zusillyah