Borrell urged Europeans to unite in relation to threats from the Russian Federation | News from Germany about Europe | Dw

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The European Union should develop a common position with regard to Russia’s attempts to call into question the security system in Europe, said EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell. “The ambition of the Russian authorities is to challenge the post-Cold War political and security order,” he wrote in his blog on Wednesday, January 12.

The Russian Federation seeks to recreate the Soviet geopolitical alignment in Europe and create a split between the EU and the United States. At the same time, Borrell pointed to Moscow’s demands to provide it with security guarantees. “Russia turned to the United States and NATO with proposals on the future of security in Europe, which contradict the principles of the European security architecture. They are accompanied by an increase in military power on the border with Ukraine and an open threat from Russia to start military operations if these requirements are not met,” he said. he.

Borrell accused Russia of trying to portray the EU as useless

Borrell pointed to three principles that Moscow first accepted, and now calls them into question – the right of states to freely make decisions on joining international organizations and alliances, provided for by the Charter of Paris, the non-use of force and respect for the territorial integrity of all countries. She violated these three principles in relation to Ukraine and Georgia, the politician said. Moreover, Russia is trying to present the EU useless and insists on the strategic break ties between the EU and the US, he said.

According to Borrell, in this situation, the EU must substantiate its role in the European security system and develop specific directions of action in this regard. However, he pointed to the upcoming meeting this week in Brest Foreign Ministers and Defense Ministers of the EU and called on it to reach the necessary agreements. “Working with the US and NATO, the EU must now determine what we can do to maintain the security order in Europe and the underlying principles that are now clearly under threat,” the head of European diplomacy said.

Russia-NATO conflict

According to NATO, in the Russian regions near the Ukrainian border there are currently about 100,000 servicemen and a large number of military equipment. At the same time, Moscow categorically denies plans for a military operation on Ukrainian territory and accuses the West of arming Ukraine and conducting exercises near Russian borders. It requires legally binding security guarantees, in particular, NATO’s refusal to further expand eastward and Ukraine’s admission to the alliance.

A number of meetings are taking place in Europe this week to resolve the conflict with Moscow. On January 10, Wendy Sherman held talks with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov in Geneva; on January 12, the first meeting of the NATO-Russia Council in the last 2.5 years is taking place. Consultations are scheduled for January 14 in Vienna at a meeting of the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

After meeting with Ryabkov, Sherman again rejected the RF demands for guarantees of NATO’s non-expansion. “We will not allow anyone to contradict NATO’s open door policy, which has always been central to the alliance. We will not abandon bilateral cooperation with sovereign states that want to work with the United States, and we will not make decisions about Ukraine without Ukraine, Europe without Europe, or about NATO without NATO, “she said. Following a preliminary meeting the previous day, Sherman highlighted Washington’s commitment to international principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and the freedom of sovereign states to choose alliances.

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