EU foreign ministers will meet in Brussels on Thursday to discuss the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, as well as the disputed presidential election in Venezuela.
The meeting is an informal one, meaning the ministers are not expected to make any official decisions. It will be chaired by EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell.
The gathering was originally due to be held in Budapest, but ministers moved it to Brussels to protest Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in early July.
A discussion of the Russia-Ukraine war with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is the first item on the agenda.
Two-and-a-half years on from Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Kiev this month surprised the world by invading Russia with an offensive in the Kursk region.
Ministers will then have lunch with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to discuss EU-Turkey relations and “global issues of shared interest,” according to a statement by the EU’s diplomatic service.
The third matter to be discussed is the efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas. The ministers will be joined by Sigrid Kaag, who coordinates the United Nations’ humanitarian efforts in Gaza.
Finally, foreign ministers will discuss the political crisis that engulfed Venezuela after its July 28 presidential election.
The country’s Supreme Court last week ruled that incumbent President Nicolas Maduro was re-elected.
But countries including the United States, Peru, Argentina, Ecuador, Panama, Uruguay and Costa Rica say the results are fraudulent, and that opposition candidate Edmundo González is the true winner.
