EU defense, foreign ministers to meet with Russia on security

European Union (EU) defense and foreign ministers will hold informal meetings this week on the EU's position on security in Europe and dialogue with Russia, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Wednesday.

"During this week's informal foreign and defence ministers meetings in Brest, we will work on the EU's precise role and contribution.

"We need to come with clear positions on what we want to achieve in these discussions on Europe's security architecture, and, even more, with clear actions and contributions.

"To achieve this aim, we Europeans must be united and formulate our answer in case Russia carries out its threats to Ukraine or the wider European security order," Borrell wrote in his blog.

"The positions remain far apart but we can envisage a continuation of a series of intense, multi-layered talks and consultations in which the EU will continue to play its full part," Borrell added.

Meanwhile, the United States continues to assess Ukraine's security requirements even after it gave military assistance to the country throughout the past year amid the tensions with Russia.

US Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith disclosed this at a news conference on Tuesday.

"The United States has been offering security assistance to Ukraine throughout the last year, and we have continued to assess the security needs of our friends in Kiev to better understand, what their requirements are," Smith said.

Smith added that she took part in a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council on Monday and reiterated that the United States continues to support Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.