Milan, 12 August (LaPresse) – ‘The European Union and its Member States are ready to further contribute to the security guarantees’ of Ukraine ‘based on their respective competences and capabilities, in line with international law and in full respect of the security and defence policy of some Member States, taking into account the security and defence interests of all Member States’. This was stated in a joint declaration by European leaders, excluding Victor Orban's Hungary, in which they welcomed ‘with favour’ the efforts of US President Donald Trump, ahead of the summit in Alaska to ‘end Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine’, but stressing that ‘a just and lasting peace that brings stability and security must respect international law, including the principles of independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the principle that international borders must not be changed by force’. "The Ukrainian people must have the freedom to decide their own future. The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine.‘ The European Union ’will continue to provide political, financial, economic, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support to Ukraine in the exercise of its inherent right to self-defence‘ and to ’impose restrictive measures against the Russian Federation," they conclude.