European leaders will assure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of their long-term support during talks after United States President Joe Biden voiced fears Republican infighting in Congress could damage US aid to Kyiv.

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

“The main challenge is to save unity in Europe – not only in the EU but in all of Europe,” Zelensky said on his arrival, warning of Russian “disinformation attacks”.

Earlier, he said on social media that his key priority was to beef up Ukraine’s air defences.

“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,” he said.

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 United Nations 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, although he added a majority of US lawmakers continued to support funding Ukraine.

The head of the European Commission, the EU executive, Ursula von der Leyen, said on arriving in Granada she was “very confident” the US would continue backing Ukraine.

Support for Kyiv has also experienced setbacks in Europe.

In Slovakia, former prime minister Robert Fico’s party came first in a parliamentary election on pledges of halting military aid to Ukraine, while Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has said Warsaw was no longer arming Ukraine.

The summit will also discuss efforts by Ukraine and others to join the EU as well as how to tackle increasing arrivals of refugees and migrants from the Middle East and Africa.

“Going from an EU of 27 to an EU of 35 will create many challenges internally,” said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, host of the gathering.

“We will open in Granada this large debate that will take us to a deep reform of the EU.”

Talks on the margins of Thursday’s 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.

Hopes for 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 were dashed when Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev decided not to attend.

-Reuters