Rishi Sunak vows Ukraine’s ‘rightful place’ is in NATO: PM meets Volodymyr Zelensky at summit of European leaders in Moldova… just 50 miles from war-torn country
- Kyiv has long called for Ukraine to be admitted to Nato, but allies are divided
- Gathering comes ahead of key meeting of Nato leaders in Lithuania, in July
- READ MORE: All NATO allies have AGREED Ukraine will become a member
Rishi Sunak has said Ukraine’s ‘righful place’ is in NATO after the PM met Volodymyr Zelensky at a summit of European leaders in Moldova, just 50 miles from war-torn Ukraine.
Kyiv has long called for Ukraine to be admitted to Nato, but allies are divided about when and how any accession might happen as the war with Russia continues.
Mr Sunak, speaking to broadcasters at the European Political Community summit, gave little further detail of the UK position on the Ukrainian path to membership.
‘I agree with the Nato Secretary General that Ukraine’s rightful place is in Nato and what we are also talking to Ukraine about right now is making sure they have all the support they need for a successful counteroffensive,’ the Prime Minister said.
The gathering, on the border of Ukraine, comes ahead of a key meeting of Nato leaders in Vilnius, Lithuania, in July.
Mr Sunak, speaking to broadcasters at the European Political Community summit, gave little further detail of the UK position on the Ukrainian path to membership
‘I agree with the Nato Secretary General that Ukraine’s rightful place is in Nato and what we are also talking to Ukraine about right now is making sure they have all the support they need for a successful counteroffensive,’ the Prime Minister said
Mr Sunak also said he was ‘proud’ of the UK’s record in supporting Ukraine, adding: ‘We want to make sure we put in place security arrangements for Ukraine for the long term, so we send a very strong signal to Vladimir Putin that we are not going anywhere, we are here to stay and we will continue backing Ukraine – not just now, but for years into the future’
Mr Sunak also said he was ‘proud’ of the UK’s record in supporting Ukraine, adding: ‘We want to make sure we put in place security arrangements for Ukraine for the long term, so we send a very strong signal to Vladimir Putin that we are not going anywhere, we are here to stay and we will continue backing Ukraine – not just now, but for years into the future.’
The UK has been among the most vocal backers of Ukrainian requests for support in the face of the Russian assault since last year’s invasion.
Mr Sunak, in a tweet, said it was ‘always a privilege’ to meet Mr Zelensky.
He wrote: ‘We’re working with international partners to ensure Ukraine has the combat air capability needed to repel ongoing Russian aggression.’
The Government has also offered support to Moldova, amid ongoing tensions with Moscow.
‘As the first British Prime Minister to visit Moldova, I’m pleased to announce new support to aid them in the face of Russian aggression,’ Mr Sunak tweeted on Thursday. ‘Moldova is not alone.’
Mr Sunak will tomorrow discuss with his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez how they can keep up the momentum on tackling illegal migration
waiter serves drinks to Rishi Sunak and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky
The PM has already agreed a major deal with France to stop small boats
The Prime Minister previously said he wanted to use a meeting of the new European Political Community to urge closer co-operation in securing the continent’s borders.
He arrived in the capital Chisinau – around 50 miles from the Ukraine border – this morning, ahead of the start of negotiations on an agreement to return illegal immigrants to Moldova.
He is also expected to confirm that a similar deal with Georgia has come into force.
Mr Sunak will also launch a partnership, including intelligence-sharing with Bulgaria, aimed at destroying the business model of the organised criminal gangs behind the people-smuggling trade.
The Eastern European country is at the crossroads of two major routes as well as a key entry point for the dinghies used to cross the English Channel.
But it came as Labour suggested the cost of looking after migrants arriving in the UK has quadrupled since the Tories came into power.
The cost of the asylum system was £550m in 2012 but had risen to £2.1bn by 2021, according to figures first published by the Guardian.
Rishi Sunak will use a meeting of the new European Political Community to urge closer co-operation in securing the continent’s borders
A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel after being rescued during a small boat incident in the Channel, May 19, 2023
A roundtable discussion will be led by the PM where he will stress the need to deal with immigration crime as well as supporting countries suffering from Russian aggression including not only Ukraine but also Moldova – which is now home to thousands of refugees who have fled the war.
Mr Sunak, who has made ‘stopping the boats’ before next year’s general election one of his five pledges to voters, said last night: ‘Europe is facing unprecedented threats at our borders.
‘From Putin’s utter contempt of other countries’ sovereignty to the rise in organised immigration crime across our continent.
Zelensky makes new plea for European weapons
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took his quest for more arms and support to a sprawling summit of some 50 European leaders in Moldova on Thursday, becoming the focal point of an event that seeks to quell regional conflicts and shore up unity in the face of Russia’s war.
The meeting of the pan-continental European Political Community, which embraces all European nations other than Russia and Belarus, gathered the heads of state and government from 47 countries but its attention was on the continent’s south and east – a region pushed to a turning point in its relationship with Moscow because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.
The 27-nation EU wants to use the summit to reach out to many Eastern European countries that spent decades either within the Soviet Union or under its immediate sphere of influence, and to bolster the continent’s unified response to Russian aggression.
The choice to hold the summit in Moldova, a former Soviet republic of around 2.6 million people, is seen as a message to the Kremlin both from the EU and the pro-Western Moldovan government, which received EU candidate status in June of last year at the same time as Ukraine.
As he arrived, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell noted the significance of the summit’s location, only around 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Ukraine’s border.
‘It’s important that this message reaches Russia,’ Borrell said. ‘Russia is not here, not because we don’t want to invite Russia, but because Putin’s Russia was excluded from this community by launching this attack, this war – unjustified – against Ukraine.’
Moldova, Europe’s poorest country which is cradled by Ukraine on three sides, aspires to join the EU by the end of the decade, and has consistently signaled its support for Ukraine and taken in refugees fleeing the war.
Zelenskyy was the first foreign leader to arrive at Thursday’s summit venue, a 19th-century castle and vineyard around 35 kilometers (21 miles) from the capital, Chisinau. Dressed in his trademark olive green shirt and cargo pants, he thanked the Moldovan people for hosting Ukrainian refugees, and said both Ukraine and Moldova were destined to work ‘shoulder to shoulder’ for EU membership.
‘What is very important: our future in the EU,’ he said, adding that his country is ready to enter NATO whenever the Western military alliance is ready to accept it.
‘We cannot address these problems without Europe’s governments and institutions working closely together.
‘The security of our borders must be top of the agenda. The UK will be at the heart of this international effort to stop the boats.’
The EPC was proposed by French president Emmanuel Macron a year ago to improve co-operation between countries both within and outside of the EU, in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and met for the first time in Prague last October during Liz Truss’s brief premiership.
Britain will host a meeting of the forum in a year’s time, following one in Spain this autumn.
Mr Sunak will today discuss with his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez how they can keep up the momentum on tackling illegal migration. The PM has already agreed a major deal with France to stop small boats and secured a returns agreement with Albania that has led to more than 1,000 Albanians being sent home.
His flagship Illegal Migration Bill will prevent anyone who has entered the UK without authorisation from claiming asylum, and will instead mean they are detained then removed.
However, Mr Sunak will tell today’s gathering of almost 50 European leaders about the ‘devastating humanitarian impact’ of illegal migration, No 10 said, and will ’emphasise the need for all countries to grip this problem with a lawful and compass- ionate approach’.
The number of small boat migrants who have crossed the Channel so far this year stands at just over 7,600 – down 21 per cent on the same period last year.
Official Home Office figures show 7,610 arrivals since January 1 – excluding any unconfirmed number who reached Britain yesterday – compared with 9,577 at the same point last year. Officials say it is too early to tell whether the decline is simply down to weather conditions.
But if numbers are still down in one month’s time, ministers may be able to claim that tough-talking policies combined with increased police activity against traffickers is beginning to have a deterrent effect.
By the end of June last year, there had been more than 12,700 arrivals. The department’s official projections set out a worst-case scenario of 85,000 migrants crossing the Channel this year, after a record 45,700 reached UK shores during 2022.
A crucial ruling on the Rwanda asylum deal is due from the Court of Appeal within weeks.
If judges decide the policy is lawful – throwing out arguments made by the Public and Commercial Services trade union, a number of migrant charities and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees – there is a possibility that removals flights to Africa could begin soon after.
Home Office sources have indicated that charter flights to Kigali could begin even before the launch of any further appeal to the Supreme Court.
Yesterday it emerged that the PCS union, which represents 16,000 Home Office workers, has threatened industrial action if they lose in the courts.
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