Finnish PM Orpo to meet Zelenskyy in Armenia ahead of European Political Community summit
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo is set to hold a private meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Yerevan, Armenia, ahead of the European Political Community (EPC) summit. The meeting, confirmed by Zelenskyy’s office and Finland’s State Secretary for EU Affairs Minna Kivimäki, will also include the prime ministers of the United Kingdom, Norway, and the Czech Republic. The exact timing of the discussion has not been disclosed (Yle).
Zelenskyy arrived in Armenia on Sunday, with his press secretary confirming bilateral meetings with the leaders of Finland, the UK, Norway, and the Czech Republic (Ilta-Sanomat). The EPC summit, co-chaired by European Council President António Costa and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, will begin on Monday, May 4, following a dinner hosted by Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan on Sunday evening (Yle).
The EPC, launched in 2022 in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, brings together 48 nations, including the EU’s 27 member states and 20 other countries such as Turkey, Kosovo, and Iceland. The forum represents nearly 700 million people and a quarter of global GDP. This year’s summit marks the first participation of a non-European leader, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (Yle).
Orpo’s agenda at the summit includes a plenary session and small-group discussions, where he will co-chair a session on strengthening connectivity policies and economic security in the context of the green transition alongside Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama. In a press release, Orpo emphasized the importance of the summit sending a clear message that Europe stands with Ukraine (Ilta-Sanomat).
The meeting comes amid heightened tensions following a suspected Ukrainian drone violating Finnish airspace during an attack on the nearby Russian oil port of Primorsk on Sunday morning (Yle). Last week, Orpo called for Ukraine’s EU accession “as quickly as possible” (Yle).
