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 to and cannot afford to be outside spectators through whose heads decisions are made,” EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell told German newspaper Die Welt, which will be published on Wednesday, December 29.
Borrell said that “if Moscow wants to start discussing the security architecture in Europe in January and talk about security guarantees, then these are not the circumstances that only concern America and Russia.” “The EU should be present at these negotiations, such negotiations will only make sense if they are held in close coordination and with the participation of the EU,” the head of European diplomacy stressed.
Moscow’s conditions are “unacceptable”
Moscow would like to have a situation where the two sides “share spheres of influence” without taking into account the EU. “We will never agree with that,” Borrell assured. He also criticized the “completely unacceptable conditions, especially if you take into account Ukraine”, put forward by Moscow along with its calls for security guarantees and non-expansion of NATO to the east. The right of any state to decide for itself whether or not to enter into any alliances cannot become a subject of discussion, the EU representative noted.
In view of the build-up of Russian troops (near the Ukrainian border. – Ed.) The EU confirms “support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” wrote Josep Borrell on his Twitter microblog on the same day. The direct priority of the EU is “to avoid further escalation. Any discussion on European security should take place in coordination with the EU and with its participation.”
The US did not invite the EU to negotiate with Russia
On the eve of the press secretary of the US State Department Ned Price guaranteed the Europeans “transparency and solidarity” during the talks between the US and Russia, scheduled for January 10 in Geneva, but did not promise to involve the EU in them. The meeting will be held in a bilateral format of strategic dialogue on security, Price said.
Russian requirements
Earlier, on December 17, the Russian Foreign Ministry published draft agreements with NATO and the United States on security guarantees. The Russian Federation demands that the North Atlantic Alliance abandon its expansion to the east and any military activity in Ukraine, Eastern Europe, Transcaucasia and Central Asia. On December 26, Vladimir Putin said that if the US and NATO rejected Russia’s proposals, Moscow’s response “could be very different” and would depend “on the proposals that our military experts will make to me.”
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