Ukraine: France hosts a new summit on Wednesday where Romania is also invited

On Wednesday, Romania will be represented by acting president Ilie Bolojan for the second meeting devoted to Ukraine, organized by France, political sources told Agerpres. France intends to host, on Wednesday, a second summit devoted to Ukraine and European security. This time it invited European countries which were not present at the Monday summit held in Paris, including Romania, a NATO member state and Canada, Reuters informs.   Two diplomatic sources declared that the countries invited this time are Norway, Canada, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Czechia, Finland, Greece, Romania, Sweden and Belgium. The meeting will have a hybrid format, including video conferences, three diplomats declared.   On Monday, French president Emmanuel Macron hosted an emergency meeting in which leaders from Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark participated, next to EC president Ursula von der Leyen, Antonio Costa, the president of the European Council and NATO secretary general Mark Rutte.   The purpose of the meeting was debating the latest evolutions in Ukraine, in the context of peace initiatives launched recently by the new American administration headed by president Donald Trump.   The meeting was part of the evaluation efforts for the way in which potential security guarantees for Ukraine and the way in which Europe should act more rapidly to increase defense expenses would look like.   According to EU officials, some countries were dissatisfied of the fact that the Monday meeting held in France was only for certain leaders and not a summit for the entire EU.   The Romanian foreign minister said on Tuesday that the Paris meeting was initiated by French president Emmanuel Macron in a format known as Weimar Plus. The format included the president of the European Council, the president of the European Commission, the NATO secretary general and several heads of state and government of European countries that are major supporters of Ukraine.   “Romania, has a double situation as Ukraine's European neighbour with the longest border and a country which constantly offered manysided humanitarian, economic and military support to the neighbor country, which has a direct interest in continuing collective European and Euroatlantic support for Ukraine, as answer to the brutal and illegal aggressive war carried out by Russia. That aspect was clearly conveyed to participants, first of all to French president Emmanuel Macron, through diplomatic means,” the Foreign Ministry pointed out in a press release.   At the same time, the Foreign Ministry showed, Romania was represented at the meeting by Poland, which holds the present EU presidency.   “Regional formats like the ones suggested and animated by Romania, like B9 or the Three Countries Initiative, are a common practice. Romania was informed about the content of talks. New meetings in which Romania will participate will follow,” the Foreign Ministry pointed out.