Zelensky Hosts European Leaders at the Historic “Carpathian 8” Summit in Bukovel

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday welcomed the leaders of eight Carpathian countries to Bukovel for the first edition of the “Carpathian 8” summit — a new regional forum aimed at deepening cooperation on security, energy, logistics and the economy. The summit is being held in the Bukovel ski resort in the Ivano-Frankivsk region in western Ukraine and will run from September 18 to 20.

The meeting brings together national leaders, representatives of European Union institutions and representatives of the business community. The eight participating countries in the initiative are Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Serbia, Czechia, Hungary and Austria.

In Bukovel were Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Romanian President Nicușor Dan. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico cancelled the trip for health reasons and his country is being represented by Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj-Eštok. The summit is also attended by senior Ukrainian officials, including Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi, Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk and Culture Minister Tetiana Berezhna.

Zelensky described the summit as the start of a movement to bring these countries closer together and create a strong framework for cooperation at EU level. As the main points of focus he mentioned security, energy, the expansion of logistics, cross-border economic cooperation and support for communities.

The Ukrainian president first announced the initiative in August, presenting it as a forum for cooperation also for partners not ready to supply Ukraine with weapons — noting that Slovakia and Hungary refuse to send arms to Kyiv.

Source: The Kyiv Independent