Overview
- Nearly 50 countries convened Monday in Yerevan for the eighth European Political Community summit to discuss security, democracy, energy, economic ties, and the wars in Ukraine and Iran.
- German Chancellor Friedrich Merz skipped the meeting due to other commitments, and France’s President Emmanuel Macron is formally representing Germany.
- EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pressed for faster arms production and a stronger European pillar in NATO after President Trump’s troop-reduction announcement.
- Britain said it will join the EU’s proposed €90 billion loan for Ukraine, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer set to discuss the plan with EU partners at the summit.
- Turkey’s vice president Cevdet Yilmaz attended in a rare high-level visit to Armenia, signaling a thaw that dovetails with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s westward turn ahead of the June 7 elections.