Kyiv, Oct 2 (EFE).- The foreign ministers of the European Union (EU) gathered on Monday in Kyiv for a “historic” and unannounced meeting.
A handout photo made available by Presidential Press Service shows EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell attending a ceremony to honor the memory of Ukrainian soldiers who gave their lives defending their Motherland near the Memory wall of fallen defenders of Ukraine in Russian-Ukrainian war in downtown Kyiv, Ukraine, 01 October 2023. EFE/EPA/PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE / HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES
The 27 representatives were holding an unprecedented session both outside the EU and in a country at war which, for security reasons, had not been announced until it began.
“I am convening today the EU Foreign Ministers in Kyiv, for the first ever meeting of all 27 Member States outside the EU,” wrote High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell on X.
He later added that it is a “historic” meeting and “we are here to express our solidarity and support to the Ukrainian people.”
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba attends a joint press conference with his Japanese counterpart Hayashi in Kyiv, Ukraine, 09 September 2023, amid the Russian invasion. EFE-EPA FILE/SERGEY DOLZHENKO / POOL
A European ambassador also told EFE that holding the event in Kyiv is a show of support for Ukraine and the reform process it is undertaking to enter the EU.
“Ukraine’s future lies within the EU,” Borrell added on the social media network.
Upon entering the meeting, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also said it was a historic event because, for the first time, the Foreign Affairs Council was taking place outside the current EU borders but within its future borders.
For Kuleba, the decision to gather the 27 foreign ministers in Kyiv was a clear message of the bloc’s commitment to the accession of Ukraine. EFE
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