EU foreign ministers meet in Lviv

LVIV (Ukraine) - Dozens of European Union (EU) foreign ministers and diplomats are meeting in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Friday to show support for Ukraine on Europe Day.

"It is important and symbolic that European partners stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine on Europe Day," Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Telegram after talks with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas.

35 high-level European representatives have arrived in Lviv, according to Ukrainian sources. Among them are Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze and the new German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul.

At a wreath-laying ceremony at the Lychakiv cemetery, diplomats remembered Ukrainians killed since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.

The agenda of the meeting included discussions on the situation on the frontline and the need to provide additional arms to Kyiv.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the talks would also discuss the creation of a special tribunal to try Russian leaders.

The Latvian Foreign Ministry told LETA that the main issues discussed during the visit were military support for Ukraine, the creation of a special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, increasing pressure on Russia and Ukraine's euro-integration process.

"Ukraine is Europe and Ukraine will become a member of the EU. This is what we promised to Ukrainian soldiers, war veterans, children who have lost their parents, the dead in Lviv cemetery, the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister and the entire Ukrainian people. This is Ukraine's choice and it is the EU's choice," the statement quotes the Latvian Foreign Minister as saying.

Latvia knows from its own historical experience how important it is to hold Russia accountable for the crime of aggression in order to ensure peace and security in the future - not only in Ukraine, but throughout Europe. She stresses that the leaders of the USSR have never been held internationally accountable for the crimes committed before, during and after World War II, including in the occupied Baltic states.

Braze noted that with the establishment of the international tribunal, "for the first time since the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials, we will have the opportunity to hold senior Russian officials accountable for the crime of aggression". Braze also stressed that the work on the creation of the tribunal must be concluded as soon as possible.