THE Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expected this morning at Brusselswhere he is expected to sign together with the Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Cro bilateral security agreementthe government announced last Monday night.
The Ukrainian president, who is asking the West to step up aid to his country in the context of the war with Russia, is then expected to be received by Belgium’s King Philippe, the palace announced.
The visit, lasting a few hours, is expected to end at noon at the Melsbruck military airport, near Brussels, where the Belgian government is expected to recall its commitment to provide the Ukrainian armed forces with F-16 fighter jets, “if possible before the end of the year”.
The Belgian Ministry of Defence contributes to training of Ukrainian operators and techniques in the use of American-made fighters. President Zelensky will meet with some of the Ukrainian and Belgian pilots, technicians and instructors, according to Mr. De Croix’s services.
The visit of the Ukrainian president is part of his tour of European capitals. Yesterday he was in Madrid, today, following Brussels, he is expected to go to Lisbon, where he will meet with Prime Minister Luis Montenegro and President Marcelo Hebelo de Souza.
In MadridSpanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced new military aid worth $1 billion through 2024 as part of a bilateral security deal with Kiev.
During a joint press conference with Mr. Sanchez, President Zelensky called on the West to force “by all means” Russia to accept peace, while Kiev is demanding that countries supplying it with weapons, especially long-range weapons, allow their use once morest targets on Russian territory.
While there are less than three weeks left until conference on peace in Ukraine scheduled to be held in Switzerland, Mr. Zelensky rejected China and Brazil’s proposal to invite Russia to the talks, judging that it will “block everything”.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s visit to Spain was originally scheduled for May 17 and there was talk of his possible transfer to Brussels soon following. However, the visit had to be postponed due to Russian military operations a few days earlier in northeastern Ukraine.
Since February 2022, Belgium has pledged to provide Ukraine with aid in excess of 1.2 billion euros, of which 916 million in 2024 alone, according to the Belgian Ministry of Defense, which assures that it has trained “almost 2,500 Ukrainian military personnel”.
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