Belgium’s Prime Minister Bart De Wever (N-VA) assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of continued support during their meeting in Brussels. Ahead of the European summit, he called US President Donald Trump “a real bully.”

De Wever and Zelenskyy met in person for the first time on Thursday morning, after having already spoken over the phone at the end of February. The talks took place in the Prime Minister’s office at Rue de la Loi 16, before the start of the extra European summit in Brussels.

“What Trump is doing is very un-European. He is also a real bully,” said De Wever, after the events of the past few weeks.

However, he added that Belgium will not be cutting ties with the US. “The US remains historically our most important ally within NATO. That will not change with one president.” Trump’s policies therefore “does not mean that we have to tear up decades-old treaties. We are explicitly not going to do that,” De Wever stressed.

Continuing support

Still, De Wever stressed that Ukraine can continue to count on Belgian support, emphasising that the invaded country must be at the table when peace talks with Russia take place. Additionally, “no decisions about Europe may be taken without European representation.”

During the conversation with Zelenskyy, De Wever emphasised that Russia is the aggressor in the conflict, and Ukraine the victim. In February, Trump suggested that Kyiv itself had started the war.

The Ukrainian delegation thanked Belgium for its continued political, financial and military support. When asked, Zelenskyy emphasised that Ukraine hopes to be able to elicit additional European support at the special summit today. “Today, we are in Europe, and it is important that the support of our European partners continues,” he said.

De Wever and Zelenskyy first sat together in private in the Prime Minister’s office. This was followed by broader consultations with, among others, Defence Minister Theo Francken (N-VA), as well as Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Andrii Sybiha and Zelenskyy’s chief of staff Andrii Yermak.

During their telephone conversation on 25 February, Zelenskyy invited De Wever to visit Kyiv. Now, it was agreed that he “and members of his government” will accept this invitation "as soon as possible.

" While there is therefore no specific date, the trip should be possible “within a few weeks,” said Francken.

F-16s and 2% defence spending

Before entering the European summit, De Wever told reporters that he was not ruling out that Belgian F-16s would be delivered to Ukraine this year. “But they would be used to deliver spare parts.” Next year, combat-ready F-16s could possibly be delivered, he added.

De Wever also told journalists that the European Commission’s ReArm Europe plan should enable Belgium to reach its target of spending 2% of its GDP on defence sooner than expected, “without too much damage” to other sectors.

“2029 is far too late,” he added, referring to the deadline set in the Federal Government agreement. “We are a poor performer in NATO, and we are not even invited to certain meetings.” Belgium was not invited to the initial meetings in Paris and London of a potential coalition of countries willing to ensure a possible peace agreement in Ukraine.

The Commission’s proposals include greater flexibility in European budgetary rules, which the Belgian Prime Minister has also welcomed it as “necessary”, but added that “like the Dutch, I worry that it may become a habit.”

brusselstimes.com