NATO and the EU urge G7 nations to step up air defense for Ukraine and expand Iran sanctions

CAPRI, Italy (AP) — Top NATO and European Union officials urged foreign ministers from leading industrialized nations on Thursday to take quick, concrete steps to provide more air defense systems and artillery to Ukraine, warning that continued delays could tilt the war in Moscow’s favor.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell addressed a meeting of foreign ministers of G7 nations meeting on the Italian resort island of Capri. Russia’s war on Ukraine and surging tensions in the Middle East over Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel over the weekend have topped the agenda of the gathering.

Without more Patriot air defense missile systems to protect against Russian strikes, “the electricity system of Ukraine will be destroyed. And no country can fight without having electricity at home, in the factories, in the front line,” Borrell told reporters on the sidelines of the event.

Stoltenberg welcomed signs that the U.S. Congress might soon vote on a $61 billion aid package for Ukraine, the bulk of which would go to purchasing weapons and ammunitions from U.S. defense manufacturers. And he welcomed other recent financial pledges from the Netherlands and Denmark as well as Germany's recent announced delivery of a new Patriot missile battery.

But he said more long-term and sustainable aid was necessary to better coordinate Ukraine's response over the long term.

“There is an urgent, critical need for more air defense,” Stoltenberg said, adding that artillery rounds were also needed. “We cannot continue to be in a situation where Russia is outgunning Ukraine, in the way they do now. The Russians are shooting and shooting, and the Ukrainians have limited resources to shoot back. So the Ukrainians need more, and that’s the urgent and important message from me to all allies.”

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani opened the first working session by calling for new sanctions against Iran for its weekend attack and concrete help for Ukraine. “If Ukraine loses, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin will never sit at the peace table,” Tajani warned.

The Capri meeting of the top diplomats from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States dovetailed with other regional diplomatic efforts sending the same messages. On Wednesday, EU leaders meeting in Brussels vowed to ramp up sanctions on Iran to target its drone and missile deliveries to proxies in Gaza, Yemen and Lebanon.

The U.S. and Britain, meanwhile, announced Thursday they were imposing a new round of sanctions on Iran, with the U.S. targeting individuals and entities that produce engines that power drones and are involved in steel production. The latest British measures target several Iranian military organizations, individuals and entities involved in Iran’s drone and ballistic missile industries.

Borrell said the existing EU sanctions regime would be strengthened and expanded to punish Tehran and help prevent future attacks on Israel. At the same time, he said, Israel needed to exercise restraint.

“I don’t want to exaggerate but we are on the edge of a war, a regional war in the Middle East, which will be sending shockwaves to the rest of the world, and in particular to Europe,” he warned. “So stop it.”

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Iran must be isolated “because,of course, there must be a reaction to this unprecedented incident, but there must be no further escalation in the region,” German news agency dpa reported.

On Ukraine, its Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who was invited to Capri as a guest, underlined his country’s need for essential military support, including artillery, ammunition, and air defense systems as Russia pushes along the front line.

He thanked Germany for providing Ukraine with a new Patriot battery, which was announced over the weekend, but urged the U.S. Congress to quickly approve the funding package.

“So we will work here at the ministerial level to make other allies deliver air defense systems to Ukraine. Because it’s of fundamental importance," Kuleba said.

President Joe Biden said Wednesday he supported a proposal from the House speaker, Mike Johnson, to provide about $61 billion in aid for Ukraine, signaling bipartisan support for the precarious funding bill.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he hoped the U.S. funding would come through but said other allies needed to step up.

“In this moment, it is urgent that all of the friends and supporters of Ukraine maximize their efforts to provide Ukraine with what it needs to continue to effectively defend itself against this Russian aggression,” Blinken said after meeting with Kuleba.

“If Putin is allowed to proceed with impunity, we know he won’t stop at Ukraine and we can safely predict that his aggression will continue,” Blinken said. “Other would-be aggressors around the world will take note and unleash their own aggressions. And we will have a world of conflict, not a world of peace and security.”

Borrell said Europe can't rely solely on Washington to help Ukraine defend itself.

“Concrete decisions have to be taken in order to send to Ukraine more air defense,” he said. “We do have Patriots, we have anti-missile systems. We have to take them from the our barracks where they are just in case, and to send to Ukraine where the war is raging. And I’m sure we will be doing that, but it has to be done quickly.”

Geir Moulson contributed from Berlin.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani attends a meeting on the second day of a G7 foreign ministers meeting on Capri island, Italy, Thursday April 18, 2024. (Remo Casilli/Pool via AP)

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, left, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken attend a meeting on the second day of a G7 foreign ministers meeting on Capri island, Italy, Thursday April 18, 2024. (Remo Casilli/Pool via AP)

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, left, and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa shake hands at a meeting on the second day of a G7 foreign ministers meeting on Capri island, Italy, Thursday April 18, 2024. (Remo Casilli/Pool via AP)

Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly attends a meeting on the second day of a G7 foreign ministers meeting on Capri island, Italy, Thursday April 18, 2024. (Remo Casilli/Pool via AP)

From left, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock attend a meeting on the second day of a G7 foreign ministers meeting on Capri island, Italy, Thursday April 18, 2024. (Remo Casilli/Pool via AP)

From left, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and British Foreign Secretary David Cameron attend a meeting on the second day of a G7 foreign ministers meeting on Capri island, Italy, Thursday April 18, 2024. (Remo Casilli/Pool via AP)

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, attend a meeting on the second day of a G7 foreign ministers meeting on Capri island, Italy, Thursday April 18, 2024. (Remo Casilli/Pool via AP)

Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly, left, and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani react during a meeting on the second day of a G7 foreign ministers meeting on Capri island, Italy, Thursday April 18, 2024. (Remo Casilli/Pool via AP)

From left, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani attend a meeting on the second day of a G7 foreign ministers meeting on Capri island, Italy, Thursday April 18, 2024. (Remo Casilli/Pool via AP)

French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne attends a meeting on the second day of a G7 foreign ministers meeting on Capri island, Italy, Thursday April 18, 2024. (Remo Casilli/Pool via AP)

Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly attends a meeting on the second day of a G7 foreign ministers meeting on Capri island, Italy, Thursday April 18, 2024. (Remo Casilli/Pool via AP)

Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly attends a meeting on the second day of a G7 foreign ministers meeting on Capri island, Italy, Thursday April 18, 2024. (Remo Casilli/Pool via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends a meeting on the second day of a G7 foreign ministers meeting on Capri island, Italy, Thursday April 18, 2024. (Remo Casilli/Pool via AP)

From left, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speak during a meeting on the second day of a G7 foreign ministers meeting on Capri island, Italy, Thursday April 18, 2024. (Remo Casilli/Pool via AP)

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani reacts during a meeting on the second day of a G7 foreign ministers meeting on Capri island, Italy, Thursday April 18, 2024. (Remo Casilli/Pool via AP)

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock talks to reporters during the G7 Foreign Ministers meeting on Capri Island, Italy, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock talks to reporters during the G7 Foreign Ministers meeting on Capri Island, Italy, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, down left, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, left, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, top left, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, bottom, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, right, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly, top right, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne, top, and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani meet on the second day of a G7 foreign ministers meeting on Capri island, Italy, Thursday April 18, 2024. (Remo Casilli/Pool via AP)

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock talks to reporters during the G7 Foreign Ministers meeting on Capri Island, Italy, Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends a meeting on the second day of a G7 foreign ministers meeting on Capri island, Italy, Thursday April 18, 2024. (Remo Casilli/Pool via AP)

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, left, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, top left, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, top, second from left, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, bottom left, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, bottom right, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly, top right, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, right, meet on the second day of a G7 foreign ministers meeting on Capri island, Italy, Thursday April 18, 2024. (Remo Casilli/Pool via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s hush money trial resumes Tuesday with testimony from the third prosecution witness, Gary Farro, a banker who helped Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen open accounts.

Cohen used one to buy the silence of porn performer Stormy Daniels. She alleged a 2006 sexual encounter with Trump, which he denies.

The first week of testimony was the scene-setter for jurors: Manhattan prosecutors portrayed what they say was an illegal scheme to influence the 2016 presidential campaign by burying negative stories.

For his part, the former president and presumptive Republican nominee has been campaigning in his off-hours, but is required to be in court when it is in session, four days a week.

The charges center on $130,000 in payments that Trump’s company made to Cohen. Prosecutors say Trump obscured the true nature of those payments and falsely recorded them as legal expenses.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

The case is the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president and the first of four prosecutions of Trump to reach a jury.

Currently:

— Key players: Who’s who at Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial

— The hush money case is just one of Trump’s legal cases. See the others here

— These people were charged with interfering in the 2020 election. Some are still in politics today

— The National Enquirer was the go-to American tabloid for many years. Donald Trump helped change that

— Trump and DeSantis meet to make peace and discuss fundraising for the former president’s campaign

Here's the latest:

Donald Trump entered his motorcade outside Trump Tower in midtown, headed to the courthouse in lower Manhattan for the second week of trial testimony.

The former president on Tuesday will be in court for testimony from the third prosecution witness, Gary Farro, a banker who helped Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen open accounts.

Cohen used one to buy the silence of porn performer Stormy Daniels. She alleged a 2006 sexual encounter with Trump, which he denies.

Judge Juan M. Merchan may decide this week on prosecutors’ request to fine Trump for what they say were violations of a gag order that bars him from making public statements about witnesses, jurors and some others connected to the case.

The judge also has set a hearing Thursday on another batch of alleged gag order violations.

In an order first made in March and later revised, Merchan barred Trump from making public statements about probable trial witnesses “concerning their potential participation in the investigation or in this criminal proceeding.”

Merchan’s order didn’t give specific examples of what types of statements about witnesses were banned. He noted the order was not intended to prevent the former president from responding to political attacks.

The gag order also barred Trump from making public statements of any type about jurors, court staff, lawyers in the case or relatives of prosecutors or of the judge.

Defense lawyers in Donald Trump’s hush money trial dug Friday into assertions of the former publisher of the National Enquirer and his efforts to protect Trump from negative stories during the 2016 election.

The first week of testimony was the scene-setter for jurors: Manhattan prosecutors portrayed what they say was an illegal scheme to influence the 2016 presidential campaign by burying negative stories. Now prosecutors are working on filling in the details of how they believe Trump and his allies pulled it off.

Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker’s testimony last week provided jurors with a stunning inside look at the supermarket tabloid’s “catch-and-kill” practice of purchasing the rights to stories so they never see the light of day.

Trump’s longtime executive assistant, Rhona Graff, told jurors she recalled seeing Stormy Daniels in a reception area of Trump Tower, though the date of the visit wasn’t clear.

Gary Farro, a private client adviser who previously worked at First Republic Bank, testifies on the witness stand in Manhattan criminal court, Friday, April 26, 2024, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

Former President Donald Trump, followed by his attorney Todd Blanche, exits the courtroom during his trial at Manhattan criminal court , Friday, April 26, 2024, in New York. (Curtis Means/DailyMail.com via AP)

Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court before his trial in New York, Friday, April 26, 2024. (Dave Sanders/The New York Times via AP, Pool)