Borrell: The EU's goal is to get Russia to de-escalate in Donbass | News from Germany about Ukraine

The main “goal, concern and interest” of the EU is to get Russia to de-escalate in the Donbass, wrote on Sunday, January 9, in his blog, EU High Representative for Foreign Policy Josep Borrell, summing up his trip to Ukraine from 4 to 6 January 2022 “Russia is a party to the conflict (in the Donbass. – Ed.), and not a mediator, as she herself claims, “the diplomat said.

According to Borrell, having visited Donbass for the first time during his tenure as head of EU diplomacy, he was convinced that the Ukrainian government, international organizations and NGOs had done a great job there, and saw with his own eyes how the conflict in this region affected the lives of thousands of people and destroyed many destinies.

The diplomat stressed that Russia’s implementation of the Minsk agreements is a fundamental condition for achieving peace in Donbass. “We will continue to support diplomatic efforts to revive this agreement within the Trilateral Contact Group (Russia, Ukraine and the OSCE), as well as the Normandy Format (Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany). It is equally important that the OSCE Special Observer Mission can fully fulfill their mandate, “Borrell said.

Possible consequences of Russian aggression in the conflict with Ukraine

He stressed that dialogue is necessary, but that firm support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine is equally important. “Any further aggression against Ukraine will have large-scale consequences and cost Russia dearly,” he said. “We are closely coordinating our position with our transatlantic partners and our other like-minded people.

According to the diplomat, the Russian leadership, which excluded the EU from the agreements on security in Europe, promulgated in December 2021, “apparently wants to turn back the clock, returning to the logic of the Cold War.” “There is no place for such a division of spheres of influence in 2022: Yalta – 2 cannot be,” he stressed.

At the same time, Borrell noted that the OSCE should remain the main platform for discussing European security problems.

EU support for Ukraine

According to Borrell, the security situation in Eastern Europe will become the main topic of informal meetings of the Foreign and Defense Ministers of the EU member states, which will be held next week in France.

“Ukraine can be sure that we will continue to support it politically, diplomatically and economically,” concluded Josep Borrell.

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