Corriere Della Sera: Britain has invited Ukraine to form an alternative EU alliance

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson is proposing an alliance with Ukraine, Poland, the Baltic states and possibly Turkey. The alliance is to unite countries dissatisfied with EU policies and Germanyʼs response to Russiaʼs military aggression.

This was reported by the largest Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera.

The new "political, economic and military union" should become an alternative to the European Union to counter Russia.

This model involves the involvement of Britain as a leader, as well as Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and possibly Turkey at a later stage.

Sources outside London say it should be "a union of states that are zealous for their national sovereignty, economically liberal and determined to show maximum intransigence to Moscowʼs military threat."

According to the publication, Johnson has been working on the idea for more than a month and presented it to President Volodymyr Zelensky during a visit to Kyiv in early April. After the return of the British Prime Minister, the talks continued.

Kyiv has not yet taken a position on the British idea, but has not stopped it in its infancy, the publication notes.

Zelensky is currently awaiting the EU summit on June 23, at which Ukraine can receive the status of a candidate for EU membership. However, if it is not given this status, Kyiv may take Johnsonʼs proposal more seriously.

• President Volodymyr Zelensky believes that there should be no alternatives for Ukraineʼs EU candidate status.