Sybiha Invites EU Foreign Ministers To Lviv On May 9 Sikorski

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, in coordination with Poland's EU Presidency and EU High Representative Kaja Kallas, has invited the foreign ministers of EU member states to visit Lviv on May 9.

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said this following a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council held in Luxembourg on Monday, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"Minister Sybiha, in agreement with me and Kaja Kallas, is also inviting the ministers to a meeting in Lviv on May 9. I think it's a wonderful idea to show that Europe is there -- in Ukraine -- not beside Putin in Moscow," Sikorski said.

He agreed with Kallas' position that the presence of any representative from an EU country -- or a candidate country -- at events in Moscow "would be a disgrace for that country."

According to Sikorski, as the world approaches the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, Putin "will try to fool everyone by claiming he is fighting fascism and will refer to the victory in World War II."

"Of course, this is another lie. Russia is an authoritarian state. Today, there are more political prisoners in Russia than during Brezhnev's era. And it is Russia that invades neighboring countries and tries to strip a large neighboring nation of its right to its own identity," he said, adding that this is "a practice of fascists."

He stressed that Russians were not the only ones who fought in World War II.

"Several million Ukrainians died during World War II, and several million more served in the Red Army, liberated Poland, and took Berlin. Therefore, the victory of the anti-Hitler coalition over the Third Reich does not belong to Putin, and using it to discredit Ukraine is a usurpation of history," Sikorski said.

The EU Foreign Affairs Council held a meeting in Luxembourg on Monday, with the situation in Ukraine being the first item on the agenda. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha participated in the meeting via video conference.

EU High Representative Kaja Kallas stated that any participation by EU candidate countries in the May 9 parade or other celebrations in Moscow would not be welcomed by the European Union, given that it is Russia that has launched and is waging war in the heart of Europe.

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