Europe holds 44-leader summit with Russia and Belarus left out in the cold

The summit was the brainchild of French President Emmanuel Macron and is backed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Leaders from around 44 countries gathered to launch a European Political Community aimed at boosting security and economic prosperity across the continent (Darko Bandic/AP)

The leaders of 44 European countries stretching from Iceland to Turkey met on Thursday in what many said was a united stand against Russia’s war on Ukraine, as an energy crisis and high inflation fuelled by the conflict wreak havoc on their economies.

The inaugural summit of the European Political Community involved the 27 European Union member countries, aspiring partners in the Balkans and Eastern Europe, as well as neighbours like Britain – the only country to have left the EU – and Turkey.