European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of the start of her tour of the Black Sea region. The conversation covered security in the Black Sea, the war in Ukraine and the upcoming peace talks.
“Freedom of navigation in the Black Sea must be restored and preserved,” von der Leyen said. She added that she had reaffirmed her support for Zelensky’s call for a ceasefire covering food and energy infrastructure.
Von der Leyen begins her visit in Romania
The President of the European Commission will begin her visit on November 9 in Bucharest. Meetings with Romanian President Nicușor Dan and Prime Minister Luca Niculescu are planned there.
The topics include regional security, energy, European competitiveness, the enlargement of the European Union and negotiations on the Union’s budget for the 2028–2034 period. Support for Moldova’s European integration is also on the agenda.
Bulgaria is the next stop
On November 10, von der Leyen will be in Varna. She will hold talks with Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev and visit the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy. Security in the Black Sea is expected to be among the main topics of the talks.
The tour is taking place against the backdrop of a series of drone attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea. Bulgarian authorities said they had detected and destroyed a Russian “Gera-2” drone in waters off the northern Black Sea coast. The Associated Press links the visit also to growing security concerns on NATO’s eastern flank.
Peace talks and the next meeting with Zelensky
During the phone call, von der Leyen and Zelensky also discussed peace efforts, including talks planned for this week in Abu Dhabi. According to the Associated Press, the meeting is expected to bring together representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the United States and will be the first such trilateral format since February.
After Bulgaria, the President of the European Commission will attend the UN climate conference COP31 in Antalya, Turkey, on November 11. On November 12, she will be in Dublin for a meeting of the European Political Community, while an informal meeting of the members of the European Council is planned for the following day. It is in Dublin that von der Leyen expects to meet Zelensky again and discuss the next steps toward peace.
Sources: ziare.com, apnews.com, tvrinfo.ro