EU foreign ministers meet over Syria, Georgia, others

European Union foreign ministers plan to meet in Brussels on Monday to discuss recent developments in Syria and Georgia, Ukraine and the Middle East as well as the political situation in Belarus.

Ministers are set to adopt the 15th round of new sanctions on Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, targeting the Kremlin’s shadow fleet of oil tankers.

Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha is expected to join his EU counterparts by videoconference to give an update on the situation on the battlefield, as talks about an EU involvement in a potential peacekeeping mission grow louder.

Possible sanctions on the Georgian government are also on the table after pro-European demonstrations were answered with police violence and mass arrests.

The outcome of the presidential elections will also be discussed.

Potential actions could include imposing EU travel bans on those responsible for the recent events and freezing assets held in the EU.

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Similar measures are also due to be imposed on more Belarusian figures or entities ahead of the upcoming elections where President Alexander Lukashenko is set to be re-elected, after a violent mass crackdown on the country’s opposition in 2020.

The gathering, chaired for the first time by the EU’s new top diplomat Kaja Kallas, will also discuss the situation in Syria after a rebel alliance led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a designated terrorist group to which the EU has no official contact, took control of Damascus.

Ministers will also deal with the situation in Syria’s neighbouring countries, with Israel and Lebanon observing a fragile ceasefire and Israel continuing its attack on Gaza.

(NAN)