Romania and the Czech Republic expressed disappointment at the lack of an invitation to the Paris summit

A number of European leaders have gathered in Paris at the initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron for an emergency meeting in connection with the US approach to the Ukrainian settlement. Several countries, including Romania, the Czech Republic and Slovenia, are disappointed that they were not invited. The French newspaper Le Monde reported on February 17.

"No country has more Ukrainian refugees per capita than the Czech Republic, and we run one of the most efficient arms supply systems," the piece noted.

Bucharest reacted more politely, but disappointed just as palpably, given that Romania shares more than 600 kilometers of common border with Ukraine and remains a strategic location for arms supplies, the paper said.

Slovenia also regretted that not all European Union (EU) countries were invited to the summit in Paris.

"On a symbolic level, the organizers of the Paris summit prove to the world that even in Europe countries are treated unequally. This is not in line with the spirit of the European integration process. This is not the Europe we aspire to. This is not the Europe that will be respected in the world," said Slovenian President Natasa Pirtz-Musar.

"The amount of EU losses from the sanctions standoff with Russia is already huge"

Vladislav Maslennikov, Director of the Department of European Affairs of the Russian Foreign Ministry, on the EU's 16th package, the prospects of withdrawal from the OSCE and the format of Moscow's relations with NATO

Earlier, on February 16, Czech President Pavel considered the development of a Marshall Plan for Ukraine an excellent idea. The Marshall Plan was a set of aid measures that the United States provided to Europe after World War II. The support was named after the name of its author - American Secretary of State George C. Marshall, who held the post from 1947-1949.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on 15 February that Europe needed its own action plan on Ukraine, otherwise the future of the EU would be decided by other global players, not necessarily in its interests.