Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday called on the European Union to "unite the whole continent" as he pushes for more military aid to repel Russian forces.
But a key meeting with international allies planned for Saturday was postponed after US President Joe Biden called off a planned European visit to focus on the threat from Hurricane Milton to Florida.
The EU must "unite the whole continent, all of Europe's democratic nations including your countries", Zelensky told the start of the summit in Dubrovnik.
"If Europe is not united today it won't be peaceful, so that integration processes that have begun must reach their result," he said pleading the case for his country and several Balkan states to be allowed into the bloc.
Heads of state, premiers and foreign ministers from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey joined Zelensky and Croatia's Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic at the talks.
Only Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Romania and Slovenia are EU members.
Zelensky said earlier the summit "will discuss international efforts to bring peace closer... as well as cooperation on the path to the European Union and NATO."
The Ukrainian leader has stepped up efforts to rally international backing amid doubts about future US support after the November presidential election.
- Military aid drive -
Zelensky said talks with Plenkovic focused on defence cooperation, demining, rehabilitation of wounded children and soldiers as well as Ukraine's recovery and European integration.
"Together, we will develop cooperation between our defence industries," he said on X. The two leaders signed a cooperation agreement.
At the opening of the summit Plenkovic stressed that "supporting Ukraine in its defence against Russian aggression is not only a matter of solidarity ... it also represents a crucial geopolitical and security interest for us all".
Zelensky says his country needs more aid to counter Russia's advantage in manpower and ammunition. Russia has made several battlefield advances in recent months. He also wants clearance to use long-range weapons supplied by allies, including the United States, to strike military targets deep inside Russia.
A joint summit declaration is likely to condemn Russian aggression, support Ukraine's territorial integrity and Zelensky's peace plan, push to prosecute war crimes in Ukraine and support Kiev's European integration and NATO membership, according to the media.
Zelensky has a frantic schedule this week to back his campaign.
He was to meet Pope Francis at the Vatican on Friday and media reports said he would also see Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome. The German government said Zelensky will also hold talks with Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on Friday.
Zelensky was to attend an international meeting of more than 50 countries to discuss military support for Ukraine in Germany on Saturday.
But the US military said the meeting at the Ramstein air base was postponed and did not specify a new date. Biden has pulled out of a tour of Europe and Angola because of Hurricane Milton.
The US presidential election in November could compromise the billions of dollars of support that Ukraine receives from its biggest backer.
Republican candidate Donald Trump has defended Russian President Vladimir Putin and voiced scepticism over US funding for Kyiv.
- Croatian row over Ukraine -
The Balkans summit is Zelensky's first visit to Croatia, which has given mostly military aid totalling 300 million euros ($329 million) to Ukraine since Russia's February 2022 invasion, according to Plenkovic.
The conservative government and President Zoran Milanovic have rowed over Ukraine however.
Milanovic refused this month to back a government proposal to send Croatian officers on a NATO mission in Germany to train Ukrainian soldiers.
The president, who has limited powers but is the armed forces commander, said he would not allow Croatian soldiers to "participate in activities that push Croatia into war".
The prime minister has called on lawmakers to reverse the president's decision, which would require a two-thirds majority in a parliament vote.
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