EU Head of Diplomacy to Visit Ukraine to Show Support in Conflict with Russia | News from Germany about Ukraine | Dw

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell will visit Ukraine in support of Kiev in connection with the build-up of Russian military power on the border. This is stated in the message of the European Commission (EC) on Monday, January 3.

During the visit, which will take place on January 4-6, Borrell, accompanied by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, will first visit the contact line in eastern Ukraine. After that, he plans to travel to Kiev, where he will hold talks with representatives of the Ukrainian government.

This will be the first foreign trip of the head of European diplomacy in the new year, she “underlines the strong support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine from the EU at a time when the country is faced with a build-up of Russian military power and hybrid actions,” writes the EC.

The press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that Borrell’s visit “is intended to testify to the support of our state from the EU against the backdrop of the aggressive actions of the Russian Federation.” “This will be the first trip of a high representative of the EU to Donbass since the beginning of the Russian aggression against Ukraine,” the ministry stressed.

Negotiations around Ukraine

Russia and the United States are expected to hold talks in Geneva on January 10 on Ukraine and arms control. Two days later, on January 12, talks on security issues in Europe are to be held in the NATO-Russia Council format. A meeting in the format of the Russian Federation – Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is scheduled for January 13.

Borrell previously stated that the European Union wants to take part in negotiations between the United States and Russia on de-escalation of tensions on the Russian-Ukrainian border and security issues. “We do not want and cannot afford to be outside spectators through whose heads decisions are made,” he told the German newspaper Die Welt.

In mid-December, against the background of the aggravation of the situation on the Russian-Ukrainian border, Moscow sent a list of security requirements to Washington and the member countries of the North Atlantic Alliance. They imply, in particular, obtaining written guarantees that NATO will not expand to the east and will not accept Ukraine.

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