Top European leaders pledge ‘strong’ support for Ukraine ahead of NATO summit | European Union news

The E5 talks in Berlin were held between the leaders of Britain, France, Italy, Poland and Germany ahead of July’s NATO summit.

Top European leaders want to send a “strong signal of support for Ukraine” at the NATO summit in Ankara in July, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says.

“The message to Russia is this: Ukraine is still strong,” Merz said on Wednesday as he hosted the leaders of Britain, France, Italy and Poland at the European Group of Five (E5) summit in Berlin.

This followed a videolink call between the E5 leaders and NATO chief Mark Rutte.

Leaders from 32 countries, including the President of the United States, Donald Trump, will attend the NATO summit in the Turkish capital on July 7 and 8.

Merz, France’s Emmanuel Macron, Britain’s Keir Starmer, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and Poland’s Donald Tusk pledged to support Ukraine in defending itself against Russian aggression, including sanctions and economic pressure on Russia and supporting the strengthening of Ukraine’s energy sector.

A successful meeting could strengthen transatlantic relations with the US, “and bring us together as Europeans”, Merz said.

The German chancellor added that he would speak to Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan following talks in Berlin.

Reporting from Berlin, Al Jazeera’s Dominic Kane said Merz “wants to send a message to the world and to two special people, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, about the readiness of the E5 countries to play their part in NATO”.

Kane stressed that the meeting in Berlin coincided with messages at the EU Summit last week about “the clear commitment of the E5…

This comes after Trump said he would do it whatever he can ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict after a “very positive” meeting in France at the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains near the Swiss border last week.

Macron and Meloni said that the Europeans have shown that they are ready at the NATO meeting to do military work in Hormuz River.

But both said that several conditions must be met, including that the US and Iran must complete their memorandum of understanding, including on. nuclear weapons inspectors and winter cargowhich has led to the end of the war.

European leaders also praised British Prime Minister Starmer for his work over the past two years, with Merz citing “team play”, Macron’s “good smart decisions”, and Meloni’s “excellent partnership”. Anglophile Tusk said that Starmer’s commitment meant that Europe was reunited and leaders had “forgotten. Brexit temporarily”.