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Volodymyr Zelensky has asked EU leaders to organize “a summit in a European capital” to discuss his ten-point peace plan. The Ukrainian president’s question came during the European Council, during which the 27 leaders of the Union gave their political endorsement to the ammunition plan developed by the External Action Service to urgently help Ukraine resist the Russian invasion . Zelensky logged on aboard the presidential train returning from a visit to the front, and “thanked warmly” but also listed “five factors of delay” that risk prolonging the conflict. (WAR IN UKRAINE – THE SPECIAL)
The “delay factors” according to Zelensky
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According to the Ukrainian president, the war will not end quickly if there is no “delivery of long-range missiles and fighter jets”, as regards armaments. If we talk instead of pressure in general, it is urgent to approve “a new package of sanctions and the implementation of the peace formula”. Which the European Council has also assured that it intends to support, as stated in the conclusions. The Ukrainian president, according to what was reported by European sources, would have liked to organize the summit on the peace plan in Kiev but, given the precarious security conditions, he asked for help from his colleagues, receiving “several overtures”.The last of the five factors instead concerns “the opening of negotiations for accession to the European Union”, which absolutely cannot be postponed to a later date, because the people “need something to believe in and draw the strength to fight”.
The jets from Slovakia and the phone call with Xi Jinping
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Zelensky’s appeal comes on the day Slovakia delivered the first four Mig-29 fighters out of 13, arousing the wrath of Moscow which accused “NATO and EU countries of continuing the path towards escalation of the conflict”. But the Ukrainian leader is naturally aiming for modern jets (F-16s in primis, but also Eurofighters, Rafales or the Swedish Gripen would be fine), to ensure a competitive advantage over the Russians. No mention, however, of the meeting just concluded between Putin and Xi Jinping or the imminent phone call with the great Chinese helmsman, which is arousing so many expectations. On the contrary, the leaders of China spoke all right, even if a specific chapter was not envisaged on the agenda of the European Council.
Comparison of China
According to a senior EU official, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres assured the 27 that Beijing has “a genuine interest” in maintaining relations with the European Union and that “isolating China poses risks” . However, the discussion continued. The second part of the Council was in fact dedicated to the “competitiveness of Europe”, to its “industrial and commercial” strategy: a debate defined as “geo-economic” with profound ramifications. “If you read it in watermark, you can only see China in the background,” explained a senior European source. And in fact there are rumors that soon, in the coming months, the leaders will dedicate a specific moment of discussion on the subject.