LUANDA (Reuters) -European Council President Antonio Costa pledged on Monday that the European Union will keep on supporting Ukraine, as he hailed “new momentum” in peace negotiations to end the war triggered by Russia’s invasion.
“The European Union is committed to continue providing President Zelenskiy with all the support he needs – diplomatic support, military support, economic support,” he told reporters in the Angolan capital Luanda, after chairing a meeting of EU leaders on Ukraine on the sidelines of a summit with the African Union.
“This concerns in particular, financial support to Ukraine,” Costa added, recalling that EU leaders agreed last month to cover Ukraine’s financial needs for the next two years.
“We committed to deliver … and we will deliver at the December European Council,” he said.
The European Commission has suggested using Russian assets frozen in Europe to fund a “reparation loan” for Ukraine, but leaders have not yet agreed to pursue that path.
Belgium, which holds the bulk of the assets in the Euroclear depository, has insisted that any such move must be legally sound and the risks should be shared among EU members.
“There is new momentum in peace negotiations. Yesterday’s meeting in Geneva between the United States, Ukraine, the European Union institutions and European representatives marked significant progress,” Costa said.
He said “issues remain to be resolved” but “the direction is positive”.
(Reporting by Inti Landauro, editing by Andrew Gray and Bart Meijer)
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