Ukraine#39;s foreign minister warned European Union leaders Monday that if they fail to agree to open membership talks with Kyiv at their summit this week it will have quot;devastating consequencesquot;.
quot;I cannot imagine,quot; Dmytro Kuleba told reporters in Brussels quot;I don#39;t even want to talk about the devastating consequences that will occur shall the Council fail to make this decision.quot;
Kuleba was in Brussels to attend a meeting of EU foreign ministers ahead of Thursday#39;s summit of European leaders, which is due to decide whether to open formal membership talks with Ukraine and other candidate countries.
Ukraine#39;s hopes for formal negotiations have broad support in Europe, keen to demonstrate solidarity with Kyiv amid the carnage unleashed by Russia#39;s invasion, but Hungary has threatened to veto any decision this week.
quot;I hope that European unity will not be broken, because this isn#39;t the moment to weaken our support to Ukraine,quot; EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said ahead of a meeting of the bloc#39;s foreign ministers.
The EU#39;s 27 leaders will meet on Thursday but Hungary#39;s Prime Minister Viktor Orban — Russia#39;s closest friend in the bloc — is threatening to block billions in aid and delay EU membership talks for Kyiv.
Finland#39;s Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen called Hungary#39;s position quot;very, very deplorablequot;.
quot;It is crucial that we keep on aiding Ukraine for as long as it#39;s needed, and it#39;s not only for the cause of Ukraine, but also for our own cause,quot; she said.
European diplomats believe that Orban is stalling support for Ukraine to pressure Brussels to release billions of euros of EU support to Budapest frozen over a rule-of-law dispute.
quot;This shouldn#39;t be a game of bargaining, but of course, in this situation, we need to find all channels possible which can aid in finding a conclusion,quot; Valtonen said.
Latvian Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karins said Hungary#39;s position was a quot;challengequot;.
quot;In Europe, we#39;ve faced many challenges, internal challenges in the past, and each time we#39;ve risen to the occasion and we#39;ve overcome them,quot; he said.
At the summit this week the EU is eyeing agreements on giving Ukraine 50 billion euros ($54 billion) more in financial aid, topping up a weapons fund for Kyiv by five billion euros and opening talks to join the bloc next year. — AFP
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