Ukraine must remain a “key priority“ for EU countries this year, and member states must firmly and decisively support Kiev in achieving a just and lasting peace, said European Council President Antonio Costa, quoted by Ukrinform and BTA.
He spoke during last night's event in Warsaw, marking the start of Poland's rotating presidency of the European Council.
The motto of the Polish presidency is “Security, Europe!“ Costa noted, pointing out that achieving it requires strengthening security to ensure peace in Europe.
“That is why Ukraine must remain our top priority. This year, we must continue to stand by Ukraine – "for as long as necessary - to win a full, just and lasting peace. International law must prevail in the name of the freedom of the Ukrainian people and our common security," Costa stressed. He added that in this regard, the EU should focus on its defense capabilities and make them one of the bloc's strategic priorities.
Costa also stressed the need to build a strong transatlantic partnership and cooperation between the EU and NATO. He announced that an informal meeting of European leaders would be held in early February to this end, which would be dedicated to defense capabilities. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will join the meeting.
Meanwhile, it became clear that the Slovak national electricity company CEPS will continue to supply electricity to Ukraine, despite the conflict related to Kiev's decision to stop supplies of Russian gas to Slovakia via a gas pipeline passing through its territory, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
The Slovak company told the Czech news agency ČTK that it would comply with the contracts it has with Ukrenergo.
Ukraine is using electricity supplied by Slovakia to compensate for power outages resulting from Russian attacks on its power grid. Earlier, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico threatened Kiev with retaliatory measures if it stops supplying Russian gas to Slovakia and other European Union countries.
"After January 1, we will assess the situation and the possibilities for reciprocal measures against Ukraine," Fico said in a statement. "If this is unavoidable, we will stop electricity supplies... or agree on another approach," he added.