European leaders will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday to assure him of their long-term support after US President Joe Biden voiced fears that Republican infighting in Congress could damage American aid to Kyiv.

Zelenskiy arrived in the Spanish city of Granada for a summit of the European Political Community - a forum established last year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to foster cooperation among more than 40 countries from Norway to Albania.

“Ukraine’s key priority, particularly as winter approaches, is to strengthen air defences. We have already laid the groundwork for new agreements with partners and look forward to their approval and implementation,” Zelenskiy said on social media.

“We will pay special attention to the Black Sea region as well as our joint efforts to strengthen global food security and freedom of navigation.”

Russia pulled out of a deal in July that had allowed Ukraine - a leading global grain exporter - to safely ship food products out via the Black Sea.

Russia has so far rejected UN overtures to revive the deal, while Ukraine is continuing some exports via what it calls a temporary “humanitarian corridor” for cargo vessels.

Ukraine’s efforts to export grain overland via EU countries have caused a rift with Poland and some other eastern members of the bloc that are keen to protect their own farmers. Kyiv and Brussels are also discussing expanding alternative sea routes.

The Granada gathering gives leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak a chance to re-state their commitment to Ukraine after political turbulence in both the US and Europe raised questions about continued support.

In the US, a dispute among the Republican majority in the House of Representatives has complicated budget negotiations and prompted Democrat Biden to go from confidence that an agreement will be made on Ukraine aid to openly expressing concern.

“It does worry me,” Biden said on Wednesday, before adding: “But I know there are a majority of members of the House and Senate in both parties who have said that they support funding Ukraine.”

In Slovakia, former prime minister Robert Fico’s party came first in a parliamentary election last weekend after pledging to halt military aid to Ukraine.

In Poland, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said last month his country was no longer arming Ukraine and was focusing on rebuilding its own weapon stocks.

Some Ukrainian, European Union and NATO officials have played down these developments, saying support for Kyiv will ultimately hold steady as it is in the West’s own interests.

Scholz said on Wednesday he was “very confident” that US support for Ukraine would continue.

Crises

Meetings on the margins of the Granada gathering will focus on crises between Azerbaijan and Armenia and between Serbia and Kosovo, which have flared in recent weeks amid floundering EU efforts at mediation.

EU officials had to abandon hopes of using the summit to host a first meeting between the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia since Baku’s military operation last month to wrest back control of the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, which triggered an exodus of more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians.

Those hopes were dashed when Azerbaijan’s state-run APA news agency reported on Wednesday that President Ilham Aliyev decided not to attend. Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of ethnic cleansing, which Baku denies.

Many EU leaders have condemned the Azerbaijani operation.

Others, mindful that Baku increased gas supplies to the EU during an energy crunch last year, have stressed the need to focus on helping Armenia cope with the immediate humanitarian crisis and provide political and economic support.