EU ministers to discuss war developments, approve sanctions against Iran
EU High Representative Josep Borrell spoke of this today ahead of the meeting of the EU foreign ministerial, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
At the same time, the ministers will decide on the allocation of the next tranche of European military aid to Ukraine and on the deployment of a training mission for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
“We will start with Ukraine, certainly, where [there are] bad news from the Russian attacks. This morning, Kyiv was also under heavy attack by drones in the center of the city. We will discuss the situation in Ukraine and [we will be] taking some measures [and] adopting some decisions. (…) The most important decision will be related to the new tranche of military support to Ukraine and to the deployment of a training mission. It is the last point of our discussions. I hope that, at the end, everybody will agree with that,” said Borrell.
He noted that some member states, such as France, Germany, and others, continue to train Ukrainian servicemen in handling weapons that are being handed over to Ukraine. At the same time, the creation of an EU training mission, which will be based outside Ukraine, will allow to combine the efforts of many European armies and carry out training and provide high-level military education not only for Ukrainian soldiers, but also for commanders.
Responding to journalists' questions about the EU's reaction to Iran supplying drones to Russia to launch attacks on Ukraine, the high representative noted that today the ministers will consider the evidence of such involvement and look into possible measures to be taken.
“This is something that will be discussed and we will look for at concrete evidence about the participation that Iran is strongly – in the strongest possible terms – denying,” Borrell said. “Well, let’s see what is the information. [Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro] Kuleba will participate in the meeting. But the sanctions today are related to the repression against the demonstrators, as consequences of the death of Ms. [Mahsa] Amini. This package of sanctions has been discussed and prepared, and I am sure will be adopted.”
He noted that the socio-economic consequences of the war are evident. “This war continues sending shockwaves around the world. Russia is more and more isolated, as we could see on the vote last week in the United Nations [General Assembly]. Morally, politically, even militarily: Russia is losing this war, so we have to continue supporting Ukraine,” said the EU high representative.
