BULBOACA (AFP) – European leaders staged a show of unity in the face of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and Moldova yesterday, holding a strategy summit on the continent’s political frontline.
As another deadly Russian missile barrage hit Kyiv, four dozen leaders from across Europe met in Moldova, just 20 kilometres (km) from the border with war-torn Ukraine.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived first, making the short journey while his capital counted the cost of another night of Russian strikes: three dead, including two children.
President Maia Sandu welcomed the leaders to the second summit of the European Political Community in Bulboaca, hoping to boost Moldova’s bid to join the European Union (EU).
“Ukraine keeps Moldova safe today, and we’re very, very grateful for that,” Sandu told Zelenskyy, as the pair met on the red carpet outside the Mimi Castle estate.
For the other 47 leaders invited to join them, she had another message: “Please do invest in our countries. Please do believe in our democracies, and in our EU future. This is your contribution to the stability and peace on the continent.”
Zelenskyy thanked Sandu, and the Moldovan people, and said Ukrainians were happy to stand “shoulder to shoulder” with them as they seek security guarantees from Europe.
Both Kyiv and Chisinau hope to start EU membership talks this year, despite the ongoing invasion and alleged attempts to undermine Moldova’s sovereignty.
The European Political Community (EPC) summit was also being held less than 10 km from the breakaway Moldovan region of Transnistria, which is occupied by Russian “peacekeepers”.
The summit was held under tight security, with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) surveillance planes over neighbouring Romania extending cover over the tiny former Soviet republic’s air space.
The EPC groups 27 EU members with 20 of their European allies and excludes Russia and Belarus.
It is a forum for strategic debate and for some members a potential stepping stone to full EU and or NATO membership, while addressing regional crises.
