President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has tried to drum up Balkan support for his vision of peace in Ukraine and promoted the idea of joint arms production at a two-day summit of southeastern European countries.
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The summit in the Albanian capital Tirana comes as Ukraine is trying to improve its defensive capabilities to beat back Russian forces at a time of faltering US support more than two years into Russia's full-scale invasion.
"We are interested in co-production with you and all our partners," Zelenskiy told top delegations from Albania, Bulgaria, Serbia, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Bosnia, Montenegro, Croatia, Moldova and Romania in his opening remarks.
"There are about 500 defence companies operating in Ukraine, each of them adds strength but it is not enough to win (against Russian President Vladimir) Putin. We see the problems with the supply of ammunition, which affects the situation on the battlefield."
Zelenskiy proposed organising a Ukrainian-Balkans defence forum in Kyiv or a Balkan capital to nurture arms co-operation, repeating similar initiatives conducted last year with United Kingdom and United States weapons companies.
Albania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Romania are NATO members, have joined sanctions against Russia, and sent arms and equipment to Ukraine.
There are significant arms industries in parts of the Balkans, especially Serbia and Croatia, a legacy of former federal Yugoslavia.
Longtime Russian ally Serbia has not imposed sanctions, and neither Serbia nor Ukraine recognise the independence of Kosovo, Serbia's former predominantly Albanian southern province which backs Ukraine and is seeking European Union and NATO membership.
A joint declaration signed by 10 countries at the summit said their leaders were ready to take part in a Ukrainian-led peace summit in Switzerland this northern hemisphere spring to discuss Zelenskiy's vision of peace.
Zelenskiy's diplomatic peace initiative envisions a Russian military withdrawal from all of Ukrainian territory, has not involved Russia in talks so far and been dismissed by Russia as a non-starter.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and Zelenskiy held talks and signed an Agreement on Friendship and Cooperation between Ukraine and Albania, the leaders said.
Zelenskiy told a news conference that every time weapons supplies to Ukraine were delayed it was a "gift" to Russia's Putin, an apparent allusion to the months-long impasse in US Congress over providing more assistance for Ukraine.
The other leaders reiterated their support for Ukraine in a joint declaration, saying they were ready "to participate in the post-war recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine in order to enable the Ukrainian people to rebuild their country".
Australian Associated Press
