Eight countries, two camps on arms for Ukraine, one ski resort. That was the setting on September 18, when President Volodymyr Zelensky opened the first Carpathian 8 Summit in western Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, at Bukovel.
The gathering ran three days, September 18 to 20, and drew national leaders, EU institutions and business. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Romanian President Nicusor Dan attended. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was expected but cancelled because of illness, the Ukrainian Presidential Office told the Kyiv Independent. Marek Estok, Slovakia’s state secretary for European affairs, went in his place. Czechia, Hungary and Austria also sent representatives, as did Ukraine’s own prime minister, Serhii Koretskyi, Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk and Culture Minister Tetiana Berezhna.
A forum for partners who will not send weapons
Zelensky first floated the initiative in August, pitching it as a place for cross-border economic and humanitarian cooperation, even with partners unwilling to arm Kyiv. Slovakia and Hungary refuse to supply weapons. On the summit’s first day, he said the movement “should bring our countries even closer together and create another strong framework for cooperation at the EU level.” He named security, energy, expanded logistics, cross-border economic ties and support for communities as the focus.
His opening remarks leaned on practical tasks. “We want a united Europe, a Europe with a strong regional policy,” he said. Transport and logistics need modernising, energy infrastructure needs building, and mobility must improve for goods and for defence supplies.
He held bilateral talks first with Dan, Vucic and Tusk. The second part of the summit turned to money, with about 500 businesspeople present. Zelensky said investments and agreements worth over 1 billion euros were being prepared, and that nearly 100 business projects from the eight countries, worth almost 40 billion euros in total, would be presented.
Tusk on solidarity and old wounds
At the press conference, Tusk pledged Poland’s solidarity as Ukraine faces Russian aggression. “Your sovereignty, your safety means also the Polish sovereignty and Polish safety,” he said. He did not skip the friction. This summer Zelensky named a military unit after the World War II-era Ukrainian Insurgent Army, a force remembered in Poland for its part in the 1943 to 1945 Volyn massacres, and the move set off a dispute. Friends, Tusk said, should be able to discuss even difficult subjects openly.
He also argued the Carpathian format can help Ukraine on its road to EU membership. Six of the eight members are in the EU, and both Kyiv and Belgrade will need unanimous backing from all of them to join.
