Photo: Atlantic Council

Monday’s Coverage: Russia Murders 5+, Injures 35, Damages Historic Sites in Kyiv

The European Union has formally opened negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova for their accession to the 27-member bloc.

At an Intergovernmental Conference in Luxembourg on Monday, all EU member states agreed to open the first negotiation cluster. The European Commission said in a statement.

Today, we’re launching talks on the backbone of the accession process: including justice, freedom, and fundamental rights. We’ve seen the hard work these countries have put in, and we are rewarding it with a clear path forward.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky told the Conference in a video address from Chisinau, Moldova, en route to the G7 conference in France, that the step was a “clear signal that Europe’s progress cannot be stopped”.

The path to negotiations was opened last month with the change of government in Hungary. Former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, an ally of Vladimir Putin, blocked the process, but he was defeated in elections by the Tisza Party and new Prime Minister Péter Magyar.

Zelensky Again Proposes Face-to-Face Meeting to Putin

Zelensky again proposed to Vladimir Putin that they meet face to face.

The President told reporters in Kyiv, “We sent a message expressing our willingness to meet with Putin during the G7 summit because [Donald] Trump and [French President Emmanuel] Macron will be there — so it’s the Europeans plus the US. I think it would’ve been a good — in fact, a very good — opportunity.”

Zelensky said later that he hoped Trump would initiate a trilateral meeting among the leaders in the US. He said he raised the matter during a phone call with Trump on Sunday.

“We’ll see what comes of this. If Russia refuses this chance too, additional pressure will be needed,” Zelensky said.