Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky acknowledged this Wednesday in Tirana the shortage of ammunition in his country in the face of Russian aggression and invited the Balkan countries to work together on weapons production.
“More than 500 companies in Ukraine work in the military industry, but this is not enough. We have problems with ammunition,” Zelensky said at the opening of a summit between his country and the countries of South-Eastern Europe, which is taking place in Ukraine. Albanian capital.
“Therefore, we are interested in working with you on the joint production of weapons and ammunition. We would also like to organize a separate summit on the production of ammunition with the Balkan countries,” Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian head of state insisted that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime “must lose the war” it began two years ago with the invasion of Ukraine and that “this is the basis of European security.”
Zelensky also supported the desire of Ukraine, Albania and other Balkan countries to join the European Union (EU).
“We believe that all countries and all peoples who support European standards deserve integration,” he said.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, whose government organized the summit, called for increased military and financial aid to Ukraine to “stop the Russian aggressor” and “not disarm the victim.”
“We cannot allow Russia to win and Ukraine to lose,” Rama said.
“Putin wanted to erase Ukraine from the world map in a few days, but he couldn’t. […] Ukraine’s survival depends on military and financial support, which cannot be delayed for domestic political and bureaucratic reasons,” added the Albanian Prime Minister.
The Ukraine-Western Balkans summit, taking place in Tirana, will focus on the consequences of Russian aggression in the Balkans and the assistance the region can provide to Kyiv, including military assistance.
In addition to Zelensky and Rama, the conference is also attended by the presidents of North Macedonia Stevo Pendarovski, Montenegro Jakov Milatovic, Serbia Aleksandar Vucic and Moldova Maia Sandu.
Also present are the Prime Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bojana Kristo and Croatia Andrej Plenkovic, as well as European Commissioner for Enlargement Oliver Vargelyi.
Economic cooperation between the Balkan countries as a stimulus for stabilization and peace in the region, as well as EU financial assistance to the region, will also be discussed in Tirana on Thursday.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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