Five EU countries – Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Poland – have given their backing to a proposal on joint European defence bonds, which aim to bolster the bloc’s defence industry.
Speaking during a joint news conference with his German, Italian, and French counterparts, Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski described the development as “a big deal.” A preceding meeting was also attended by the top diplomats of Spain and the United Kingdom via video link, and was followed by a joint declaration by all of the nations in attendance.
Sikorski added that the development will help “Europe firmly counteract Russia’s imperial ambitions.”
Sikorski, who hosted the meeting in Warsaw, said on Tuesday that “we have agreed that Europe must take greater responsibility for its own security, and that includes a more balanced sharing of the burden among NATO members.”
“Putin’s Russia will remain one of the most serious security threats, not only to Europe but also to the global order. Its goal remains the permanent destruction of European security architecture,” he warned.
The foreign ministers discussed stepping up Europe’s military support for Ukraine as well as ties with the United States under incoming president Donald Trump, who has repeatedly said he expects Europe to make a greater effort for its defence in the face of Russia’s war with Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a revised nuclear doctrine which declared that a conventional attack on Russia by any nation that is supported by a nuclear power state will be considered a joint attack on the country.
Putin’s decision followed that of US President Joe Biden to allow Ukraine to strike targets inside Russia with US-supplied long-range missiles.
The Russian Defence Ministry claims that Kyiv has already launched US-supplied ATACMS missiles at Russian territory for the first time.
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The ministry said Ukraine “struck a facility in the Bryansk region with six ballistic missiles,” in a statement on Telegram.
The Kremlin had warned that such a move by US President Joe Biden would cause a “radical change in the essence and nature of the conflict.”
The war, which began with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, entered its 1,000th day on Tuesday.
