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Kiev, Ukraine: The European Union's foreign policy chief said Tuesday the 28-nation bloc would stay united on Ukraine despite pressure from some members to drop or ease its sanctions on Russia.

Federica Mogherini told Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko during her first visit to the war-torn country since her August appointment that Brussels intended to "walk hand-in-hand" with Kiev.

"We discussed the way in which the European Union -- keeping its unity, which has been there and will continue to be there -- can support the implementation in full and on all points the Minsk agreement," she said in reference to Ukraine's shaky peace deal with Russian-backed rebels.

"We will continue to stay in Ukraine, making sure that this conflict comes to an end with the full respect of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity," Mogherini, a former Italian foreign minister, added.

The European Union will hold a summit on Thursday in which Ukraine and the bloc's relations with Russia are likely to head the agenda.

EU members like Bulgaria and Italy -- as well as a part of the business community and politicians in Germany -- want to either soften or outright drop sanctions against Russia imposed for its seizure of Crimea and alleged military presence in eastern Ukraine.

Moscow denies backing the rebels and argues that its annexation of Crimea followed a legitimate local vote.

It has also struck back at the West by banning most of its food imports.

Mogherini's own appointment to her post was opposed by some former Soviet satellite nations that fully support tough sanctions on Russia. They are suspicious of her past comments on the need to keep ties with Moscow open.

She has also been criticised for hiring a spokeswoman whose husband is employed by a public relations firm that lobbies for the interests of Russia's state-held natural gas giant Gazprom.

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European Union 'United' on Ukraine Despite Split Over Russia Sanctions

Brussels, Belgium: The European Union has wasted tens of million of euros on out-of-the-way, underused airports, an auditors' report said Tuesday.

The report examined 20 airport projects in Estonia, Greece, Italy, Poland and Spain which together received 600 million euros ($746 million) of EU funds between 2000 and 2013, the EU Court of Auditors said.

"We found that some airports were not profitable in the long term, some were underused and some were not used at all," said auditor George Pufan in a statement.

The plan will in part target thousands of infrastructure projects, including airports, proposed by member states eager to gain funding for pet projects.

In all, the report found that only half of the airports investigated proved worthy of the EU funds, with an estimated 38 million euros wasted completely.

"In Cordoba (Spain), for example, fewer than 7,000 passengers travelled (through the airport) in 2013, against the 179,000 forecast," a statement introducing the report said.

Moreover, seven of the airports, including the Crotone airport in Italy's Calabria region, are not financially sustainable and will require a steady flow of public funds to remain in operation.

"Both the Commission and the Member States must improve the way they invest in our airports by funding only those which are profitable and for which there is a real investment need," Pufan said.

After the report, the commission acknowledged money was wasted, though the way of calculating funds allocated to the projects had now changed.

"We have a radically different approach that will prevent a repeat of these problems," said commission spokesman Jakub Adamowicz.

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European Union Wasted 38 Million Euros on 'Ghost Airports'

BRUSSELS - European Union foreign ministers threw their weight behind a UN plan for a truce in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Monday, saying it offered a glimmer of hope for a political solution to the three-and-a-half year old civil war.

The EU also said it was ready to work with Iran and Russia to try to drive forward a broader political process that could lead to a settlement of a war that has killed around 200,000 people.

UN peace envoy Staffan de Mistura briefed the ministers on Sunday evening on his plan for a "freeze in the fighting" in Aleppo to try to get humanitarian assistance into the city that is split between opposition fighters and government troops.

"The EU is committed to fully support...de Mistura's efforts to achieve a strategic de-escalation of violence as a basis for a broader sustainable political process," EU foreign ministers said in a statement after discussing the plan in Brussels on Monday.

The EU could support de Mistura's efforts for example by helping to rebuild local administration and restoring basic services in areas where fighting had calmed down, they said.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said ministers had also agreed to "work with all the actors ... that can be part of the solution to the Syrian crisis, namely big Gulf countries, starting from Saudi Arabia, but also Iran and Russia."

De Mistura sees his proposed truce in Aleppo as a stepping stone in a political process that has been blocked for years.

The Syrian opposition, as well as some diplomats and analysts, say the initiative is risky and that Aleppo could face the same fate as the city of Homs, where government forces have largely regained control.

Separately, the European Commission and Italy agreed on Monday to launch a regional fund for Syria, with an initial 23 million euros (S$37.5 million), designed to mobilise more aid for the Syrian refugee crisis.

Mogherini also announced she would visit Baghdad and Arbil, the capital of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region, next week for talks with officials. Iraq, with the support of a US-led coalition, is battling Islamic State insurgents that have seized territory in Iraq and Syria.

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European Union backs UN plan for Syrian truce

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Moscow confirms Bulgaria South Stream #39;cancelled #39;
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