Zelensky hosts European leaders at inaugural Carpathian 8 Summit

President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sept. 18 welcomed European leaders to the Carpathian 8 Summit, the inaugural event for a new forum of eight countries across the Carpathian region.

"This marks the start of a movement that should bring our countries even closer together and create another strong framework for cooperation at the EU level," Zelensky said on social media.

The president named "security, energy, a significant expansion of logistics and cross-border economic cooperation, as well as substantial support for our communities" as the key focal points of the initiative.

The three-day summit takes place in western Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, including at the Bukovel ski resort, between Sept. 18 and 20, bringing together national leaders and representatives of EU institutions and businesses.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, and Romanian President Nicusor Dan are among those attending the summit.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was also expected to visit but canceled his trip due to illness, the Kyiv Independent has learned from the Ukrainian Presidential Office. Marek Estok, the state secretary for European affairs at the Slovak Foreign Ministry, came to represent Slovakia instead.

Representatives of other member countries — Czechia, Hungary, and Austria — are also set to attend this week's events, along with Ukraine's Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi, Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk, Culture Minister Tetiana Berezhna, and other officials.

Zelensky first welcomed national leaders and officials from the participating countries and held bilateral talks with Dan, Vucic, and Tusk. The second part of the summit focused on economic cooperation, with about 500 businesspeople in attendance.

Ukraine's president announced that new investments and agreements worth over 1 billion euros (about $1.2 billion) are being prepared for the economic part of the summit.

Furthermore, "nearly 100 business projects from all eight Carpathian countries will be presented. And the total volume of these projects is almost 40 billion euros ($45 billion)," Zelensky said.

In his opening remarks, Zelensky underscored critical energy and trade links connecting the nations of the Carpathian region.

"We want a united Europe, a Europe with a strong regional policy. And here in the Carpathians, we have many practical tasks that require constant coordination," Zelensky said.

Through this collaboration, the countries must strengthen and modernize transport and logistics, develop energy infrastructure, attract more investment, and improve mobility for both goods and defense supplies, he added.

Ukraine's international partners have used the event to reiterate their support for Kyiv.

At the press conference, Tusk pledged Poland's solidarity with Ukraine as it faces Russian aggression, as "your sovereignty, your safety means also the Polish sovereignty and Polish safety."

The Polish leader nevertheless drew attention to recent tensions between Kyiv and Warsaw over historical grievances, stressing that friends should be able to openly discuss even difficult subjects.

He referred to a dispute that broke out between the two countries in the summer after Zelensky named a military unit in honor of the World War II-era Ukrainian Insurgent Army, a resistance organization remembered in Poland due to its role in the 1943-1945 Volyn massacres.

According to Tusk, the Carpathian format can also help Ukraine on its path toward EU membership. Six of the eight countries in the initiative are EU members, and both Kyiv and Belgrade will need unanimous support of all countries to enter the bloc.

Zelensky first announced the Carpathian initiative in August, framing it as a forum for cross-border economic and humanitarian cooperation even with those partners who are not ready to provide Ukraine with weapons. Some governments in the group, namely Slovakia and Hungary, refuse to provide arms to Kyiv.