Europe holds 44-leader summit, leaves Russia in the cold

By LORNE COOK, KAREL JANICEK and SYLVIE CORBET
Associated Press

PRAGUE (AP) — The leaders of 44 European countries are meeting in what many say is a united stand against Russia’s war on Ukraine amid an energy crisis and high inflation fueled by the conflict. The inaugural summit of the European Political Community on Thursday involves the 27 European Union member countries, aspiring partners in the Balkans and Eastern Europe and as well as neighbors like Britain and Turkey. Russia is the one major European power not invited along with its neighbor and supporter in the war Belarus. Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins says the fallout from Russia’s war on Ukraine is something they all have in common. He says that “all the European countries need to work together.”