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Borrell-Ministers To Sign Off On EUR5bn Ukraine Fund Today

EU-RUSSIA

Wires carrying comments from European Commisson High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell ahead of the Foreign Affairs Council meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels. Says he hopes the ministers will sign off on the Ukraininan Assistance Fund today. The EUR5bn fund was approved by permanent repesentatives last week. Reuters: "The fund operates as a giant cashback scheme, giving EU members refunds for sending munitions to other countries."

  • France had pushed for the fund to focus on 'buying European' when purchasing arms, but others opposed this move arguing that it would slow down crucial deliveries to Ukraine. Reuters reports: "Diplomats said a compromise was found that allows flexibility on "buy European" rules and takes into account part of the value of bilateral aid when calculating members' financial contributions."
  • Borrell also spoke on the Russian presidential election. Said that the elections "have not been free or fair", and have been "based on repression and intimidation." Borrell: Russian elections violated Ukrainian sovereignty...All 27 EU members will later issue statement on Russian election.
  • US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba are also set to address the meeting.

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