German Foreign Minister Wadephul heads to Rome for talks on Ukraine
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul is expected in Rome on Thursday for an international conference focused on EU security and the war in Ukraine.
Hosted by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, the meeting is taking place within the framework of the so-called Weimar Plus format.
The group is an extension of the Weimar Triangle, which is made up of Germany, France and Poland.
According to the German Foreign Office, both NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha will attend the conference. They are to be joined by representatives from Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom, France and the European Union.
The meeting is taking place less than a month before the fourth Ukraine Recovery Conference, scheduled for July 10-11, at which some 2,000 representatives from politics, business and international organizations plan to discuss Ukraine's long-term prospects.
After a bilateral meeting with Tajani, Wadephul's schedule sees him leave Rome for the Middle East on Thursday evening. Through Sunday, he plans to visit a host of countries, including Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel.
The Foreign Office said the focus of the trip to the region is the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and plans for a peaceful order in the territory after the end of the ongoing conflict with Israel.
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