Costa invites Zelenskyy to special EU summit on Ukraine on March 6
European Council President Antonio Costa invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to a meeting of the European Council dedicated to Ukraine and European defence.
Costa announced this in a letter of invitation to the meeting, which he sent to the leaders of the European Union, the press service of the European Council reported on Thursday.
"I have invited President Zelenskyy to come to Brussels on the occasion of the meeting of the European Council to discuss with us the latest developments," the letter notes.
"As far as Ukraine is concerned, there is a new momentum, which should lead to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace. It is therefore important for us to exchange on how to further support Ukraine and on the principles that should be respected going forward. The EU and its member states are ready to take more responsibility for Europe’s security. We should therefore be prepared for a possible European contribution to the security guarantees that will be necessary to ensure a lasting peace in Ukraine," the European Council President notes.
"On European defence, my aim is to follow-up on our informal retreat of 3 February with a view to taking first decisions for the short-term, in order for Europe to become more sovereign, more capable and better equipped to deal with immediate and future challenges to its security," Costa says.
"We will start our meeting at 12:30 with our traditional exchange of views with the President of the European Parliament, followed by a discussion with President Zelenskyy over lunch. We will then focus on European Defence, followed by a discussion on Ukraine," the letter notes.