European leaders rally around Zelenskiy at Spain summit

GRANADA, Spain, Oct 5 (Reuters) – European leaders will assure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of their long-term support during talks on Thursday after U.S. President Joe Biden voiced fears that Republican infighting in Congress could damage American aid to Kyiv.

Zelenskiy arrived in the Spanish city of Granada for a summit of the European Political Community – a forum established last year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to foster cooperation among more than 40 countries from Norway to Albania.

“The main challenge is to save unity in Europe. Not only in the EU but in all of Europe,” Zelenskiy said on his arrival, warning of Russian “disinformation attacks”.

Earlier, he said on social media that his key priority was to beef up Ukraine’s air defences.

“We will pay special attention to the Black Sea region as well as our joint efforts to strengthen global food security and freedom of navigation,” he added.

Russia pulled out of a deal in July that had allowed Ukraine – a leading global grain exporter – to safely ship food products out via the Black Sea.

Russia has so far rejected U.N. overtures to revive the deal, while Ukraine is continuing some exports via what it calls a temporary “humanitarian corridor” for cargo vessels.

Ukraine’s efforts to export grain overland via EU countries have caused a rift with Poland and some other eastern members of the bloc that are keen to protect their own farmers. Kyiv and Brussels are also discussing expanding alternative sea routes.

TURBULENCE

The Granada gathering gives leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak a chance to re-state their commitment to Ukraine after political turbulence in both the U.S. and Europe raised questions about continued support.

In the U.S., a dispute among the Republican majority in the House of Representatives has complicated budget negotiations and prompted Democrat Biden to go from confidence that an agreement will be made on Ukraine aid to openly expressing concern.

“It does worry me,” Biden said on Wednesday, though he added that a majority of U.S. lawmakers continued to support funding Ukraine.

The head of the European Commission, the EU executive, Ursula von der Leyen, said on arriving in Granada that she was “very confident” that the U.S. would continue backing Ukraine.

In Europe too, support for Kyiv has recently seen setbacks.

In Slovakia, former prime minister Robert Fico’s party came first in a parliamentary election on pledges of halting military aid to Ukraine, while Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has said Warsaw was no longer arming Ukraine.

Some Ukrainian, European Union and NATO officials have played down these developments, saying support for Kyiv will ultimately hold steady as it is in the West’s own interests.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday he was “very confident” that U.S. support for Ukraine would continue.

CHALLENGES

The summit will also discuss efforts by Ukraine and others to join the EU as well as how to tackle increasing arrivals of refugees and migrants from the Middle East and Africa – both seen as existential challenges for the bloc.

“Going from an EU of 27 to an EU of 35 will create many challenges internally. We will open in Granada this large debate that will take us to a deep reform of the EU,” said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, host of the gathering.

Talks on the margins of Thursday’s gathering will focus on crises between Azerbaijan and Armenia and between Serbia and Kosovo, which have flared in recent weeks amid floundering EU efforts at mediation.

Hopes for a first meeting between the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia since Baku’s military operation last month to wrest back control of the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave were dashed when Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev decided not to attend.

Many EU leaders have condemned the Azerbaijani operation, which triggered an exodus of more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians.

Others, mindful that Baku increased gas supplies to the EU during an energy crunch last year, have stressed the need to focus on helping Armenia cope with the immediate humanitarian crisis, as well as providing political and economic support.

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