Investing.com - Joint European bonds should be discussed in the coming days to help the bloc better fund its defense capabilities as it grapples with the security implications of a possible Ukraine peace deal, according to France's minister for European affairs.
Speaking to Bloomberg TV prior to a meeting of European leaders in Paris on recent developments surrounding a potential end to the nearly three-year conflict in Ukraine, Benjamin Haddad said it is the correct moment to think about "stepping up" funding for EU security.
Hadded called the outcome of the war in Ukraine of "existential importance" to Europe and the bloc's wider security.
French President Emmanuel Macron has previously backed a plan for Europe to issue a joint defense bond in order to bolster the amount of aid sent to Ukraine.
European bond yields rose on Monday as investors gauged the possibility of more spending in the continent on defense. Yields tend to move inversely to prices.
Haddad's comments come as U.S. and Russian officials are due to meet in Saudi Arabia this week to discuss possible negotiations on Ukraine peace deal.
The discussions would take place in the Saudi capital of Riyadh on Tuesday, according to a Russian newspaper. Representatives of President Donald Trump's administration will include U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump's national security advisor Mike Waltz, and White House Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff, Reuters has reported. It was not yet clear who Russia would send to the meeting.
Media reports have suggested that the high-level in-person talks -- the first of this kind between U.S. and Russian officials in years -- could be a precursor to a possible face-to-face meeting between Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy noted that Kyiv was not invited to the talks in Saudi Arabia, while Ukraine's European allies have voiced concerns that they may be frozen out of the negotiations.