Foreign
EU defence ministers are meeting in the Czech capital of Prague on Tuesday to hold talks focused on setting up a military training programme for Ukrainian soldiers.
EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, would chair the talks at the informal meeting, and recently backed the idea to train the Ukrainian military at a university seminar in Spain.
Six months ago, in the early stages of the Russian invasion, EU foreign ministers first considered the idea of providing training for Ukrainian forces amid broader discussions on military aid.
With the Czech Republic, a strong supporter of Ukraine, holding the rotating six-month EU presidency that directs the bloc’s policy agenda, the situation on the ground totally changed.
The proposal is now firmly back on the agenda.
Meanwhile, EU foreign ministers were set to politically back the suspension of a 2007 visa facilitation agreement with Russia over the Ukraine war, diplomatic sources told dpa.
The suspension of the EU-Russia visa agreement could be the first step towards wider travel restrictions on Russian nationals, an EU diplomat with knowledge of the talks said.
The Czech Republic, Finland and Estonia, after imposing their own visa restrictions, had pushed for an EU-wide decision, but Germany and France have urged caution.
A joint German and French discussion item, seen by dpa, cautions against far-reaching visa restrictions at the risk of triggering “unintended rallying-around-the-flag effects” in Russia.
The meeting in Prague was in the Gymnich format, but no legal decision was possible as the talks were taking place informally. (dpa/NAN)
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Tags: EU defence ministers Josep Borrell
