President of the European Council António Costa held a phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on May 21, assuring him of the European Union’s support regarding the importance of achieving peace and stability in Ukraine. The President of the European Council expressed his solidarity with Ukraine’s position on ceasefire issues and further Euro-integration.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Support for Ukraine and EU Sanctions Policy
According to Costa, during his conversation with Zelensky, he specifically emphasized the need to continue cooperation with the United States and to increase pressure on Russia through new sanctions. “In my phone call with Zelensky, I expressed the EU’s support for Ukraine’s proposal for a ceasefire. It is important to continue cooperation with the United States while simultaneously increasing our pressure on Russia through new sanctions,” Costa reported on social media.
Speaking about Ukraine’s European path, he underscored his personal commitment to advancing the accession process. Zelensky, in response, described the conversation with the European leader as “very substantive” and thanked him for the support of the 17th package of EU sanctions against Russia. The next sanctions, according to the Ukrainian president, should be even stronger and cover the energy sector, banking sector, and shadow fleet, including the crews of vessels.
“António confirmed that if Russia refuses to ceasefire, such sanctions will be imposed”
Zelensky also reported that during the conversation, they discussed the opening of negotiation clusters regarding Ukraine’s EU membership. This is an important step to unblock the process and accelerate the country’s Euro-integration.
Negotiations Between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul
Minimal achievements were made during the first meeting of Russian and Ukrainian representatives in Istanbul on May 16, which was the first since the start of Russia’s large-scale invasion in February 2022. These negotiations, which included separate consultations with American diplomats, concluded with an agreement to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war. However, no commitments regarding a ceasefire were reached, and over the weekend, Russia carried out extensive shelling of Ukrainian positions using drones, resulting in new destruction and human losses.