Ukraine ready to open EU accession talks, says President Zelenskiy

EU leaders arrived in Cyprus on Thursday (April 23) for a two-day informal summit to discuss Ukraine, the Iran crisis and EU financing.

The European Union formally approved a 90-billion-euro ($105-billion) loan to Ukraine on Thursday as well as new sanctions against Russia, ahead the meeting in Cyprus which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy also attended.

The loan is set to cover two-thirds of Ukraine's needs for the next two years. Economists had said Ukraine would start ​to run out of money by June if the EU loan was not disbursed by then, requiring deep cuts to public services.

No formal decisions will be taken at the Cyprus summit, during which EU leaders will also discuss the war in the Middle East, energy measures in response, and the EU's next long-term budget. They will be joined by leaders from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the Gulf Cooperation Council for lunch on Friday (April 24).

-Christian Levaux, A. Lennon/Reuters