Zelenskyj spoke at the EPC summit in Prague, multilateral meetings were held
Update: 06.10.2022 17:57
Issued by: 6/10/2022, 5:57 p.m
Prague – At today’s premiere meeting of the European Political Community (EPC) at the Prague Castle, the leaders of the European states, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy via video. With more than four dozen countries from Iceland to Turkey, he called it an extraordinary opportunity to restore peace in Europe. Since February, Ukraine will endure the aggression of neighboring Russia, which – like its ally Belarus – did not receive an invitation to Prague.
“There are no representatives of Russia here with us – a state that geographically seems to belong to Europe, but in terms of its values and behavior it is the most anti-European state in the world,” Zelenskyy declared. He praised the creation of a new political initiative and cooperation format within Europe.
Among other things, the Ukrainian president also thanked everyone present for their support and listed several reasons that, according to Kiev, make Moscow the sole culprit of the war. Right in the meeting hall, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS), who is in charge of today’s meeting, praised Zelensky’s speech. European Council President Charles Michel also thanked the Ukrainian president for his contribution on Twitter.
The summit at Prague Castle was about 45 minutes late from the start. The statesmen have already completed the opening plenary session and also at the round tables. They discussed two main topics, namely peace and security and economy, energy and climate. Some bilateral meetings have already taken place.
On the sidelines of the summit, for example, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a multilateral meeting with, among others, Armenian Prime Minister Nikola Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilhaj Aliyev. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was also present at the discussion, as French President Emmanuel Macron, who came up with the idea of regular EPC meetings some time ago, greeted those present. Cross-border fighting broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan last month, and the two countries have long been at loggerheads.
Czech President Miloš Zeman also had two meetings today, who is starting to say goodbye to European politicians as his term of office comes to an end. He first met with Orbán, then also with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. The head of state will speak to its participants at the start of a joint dinner this evening within the framework of the EPC.
Representatives of 43 countries are participating in the community meeting today, in addition to the European Union states, the countries of the Western Balkans, the associated trio, Armenia and Azerbaijan, four countries from the European Free Trade Association, i.e. Norway, Switzerland and Iceland and Liechtenstein, as well as the United Kingdom and Turkey. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is absent today due to the internal political crisis, she will only participate in the informal meeting of the EU summit on Friday.