BRUSSELS, January 27. /TASS/. The conflict in Ukraine and all related issues will be at the center of the first meeting of foreign ministers of the 27 EU member states this year in Brussels. A senior EU official told reporters in Brussels the day before that the new EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas will insist on increasing military aid to Kiev.

The foreign ministers will discuss the use of frozen Russian assets and the 16th package of sanctions against Russia, which Brussels wants to adopt by February 24, the third anniversary of the start of Moscow's special military operation. At the same time, in order to adopt the new measures, the EU must extend the current sanctions, which expire on January 31. The decision on the extension is being blocked by Hungary due to the suspension of Russian gas transit through Ukraine.

The other main topic of the foreign ministers' meeting will be EU-US relations under President Donald Trump. According to a European diplomat, Kallas invited new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Brussels, but there is no official confirmation of his participation in the EU Council meeting.

Finally, the third topic of the meeting will be the situation in the Middle East, particularly in Gaza and Syria. In turn, an EU spokesperson said that the top diplomats will discuss the gradual lifting of sanctions against Damascus.