“EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell on Russia’s Continued War in Ukraine”

Russia does not want to stop the war and Ukraine cannot stop defending itself, EU foreign policy and security chief Josep Borrell said at an event organized by the European Policy Center in Brussels. In the last few hours, I spoke with three people who talk to the Russian side and give the same answer – Moscow is not ready for negotiations and continues to strive for victory, he said, quoted by BTA.

If we had sent military aid to Kiev in the first month of the war, the development would probably have been different, perhaps many casualties would have been spared, Borrell added. According to him, the EU has been slow in approving the relevant decisions, although it has preserved its unity.

Borrell noted that the European sanctions are accepted unanimously, but behind the scenes, some EU countries resent the measures because the damage from them is not unilateral. According to him, Europeans are united, but they must be even more united. We ourselves create our strategic dependencies, for example, on the import of Russian gas, we built the infrastructure for supplies ourselves, he noted.

Borrell added that even in the UN, the condemnation of the war is widely supported, but many countries around the world view Russia and Ukraine equally, without taking into account that one of them attacked the other.

The High Representative expressed satisfaction that China is sending an envoy to Ukraine. According to him, only the peace plan of Kiev for now represents a proposal that should be considered.

According to him, Ukraine should start the actual negotiations for joining the EU. He insisted that the countries of the Western Balkans should be patient with the EU because the accession process is long. According to him, the future generations must assess the necessary changes in the EU.