“We will continue to arm Ukraine.” Strong support for Kiev from NATO's North-Eastern flank countries
Volodymyr Zelensky, at the B9 summit in Vilnius. Photo: Hotnews
The leaders of the eight Northern European and Baltic states spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday, reaffirming support for Kiev and promising to continue supplying Ukraine with arms while strengthening European defenses to deter further Russian aggression, Reuters reports.
“So far Russia has not committed itself to an armistice or any step to bring peace,” said a joint statement by the leaders of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden.
“Solutions that respect Ukraine's sovereignty and that will lead to greater security and stability of Ukraine and Europe have our full support,” the signatories state.
The Group of Eight also supports tougher sanctions and broader economic measures to target Moscow as the war drags on.
“We will continue to arm Ukraine and strengthen the defense of Europe,” the document also says.
The statement comes as Ukraine and its European allies seek a coordinated response to the 28-point plan presented by the United States for peace between Russia and Ukraine.
Trump leaves room for negotiations and says that the offer for Ukraine is not final / The plan is criticized from the US Congress
The Johannesburg Declaration
A first point of view emerged during the G20 summit in Johannesburg. The US plan for Ukraine needs “further work”, 11 leaders, mostly European, said in a joint statement on Saturday after a meeting held on the sidelines of the G20 summit.
European leaders, joint reaction to Trump's peace plan for Ukraine. The point in the agreement that causes concern
The 28-point plan proposed by Washington “is a foundation that will need additional work,” the leaders said in a statement, saying they were “concerned about the proposed limitations on the Ukrainian armed forces, which would leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attacks.”
The declaration is signed by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Council Antonio Costa, Presidents Emanuel Macron (France) and Alexander Stubb (Finland), Prime Ministers Mark Carney (Canada), Micheal Martin (Ireland), Giorgia Meloni (Italy), Sanae Takaichi (Japan), Dick Schoof (Netherlands), Pedro Sanchez (Spain), Keir Starmer (Great Britain) and Jonas Gahr Støre (Norway).
They say in the statement that the American proposal “includes important elements that will be essential for a just and lasting peace”, but reiterates “the principle that borders should not be changed by force”.
